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A STUDY OF FAIRY 
TALES 

BY 

LAURA F. KREADY, B.S. 

WITH AN INTRODUCTION 

By HENRY SUZZALLO, Ph.D. 

President of the University of Washington 
Seattle 




HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 

BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO SAN FRANCISCO 






COPYRIGHT, 1916, BY LAURA F. KREADY 
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 




9- Prp k'j 



Wit ISd^yttiitxt l$ttM 

CAMBRIDGE • MASSACHUSETTS 
PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. 



TO THE CHILDREN 

WHO, BECAUSE OF IT, MAT RECEIVE ANY GOOD 



PREFACE 

One of the problems of present-day education is to 
secure for the entire school system, from the kinder- 
garten to the university, a curriculum which shall 
have a proved and permanent value. In this curricu- 
lum literature has established itself as a subject of 
unquestioned worth. But children's literature, as 
that distinct portion of the subject literature written 
especially for children or especially suited to them, 
is only beginning to take shape and form. It seems 
necessary at this time to work upon the content of 
children's literature to see what is worthy of a per- 
manent place in the child's English, and to dwell 
upon its possibilities. A consideration of this subject 
has convinced me of three points: (1) that literature 
in the kindergarten and elementary school should be 
taught as a distinct subject, accessory neither to read- 
ing nor to any other subject of the curriculum, though 
intimately related to them; (2) that it takes training 
in the subject to teach literature to little children; 
(3) that the field of children's literature is largely un- 
tilled, inviting laborers, embracing literature which 
should be selected from past ages down to the present. 

A single motif of this children's literature, Fairy 
Tales, is here presented, with the aim of organizing 
this small portion of the curriculum for the child of 



vi PREFACE 

five, six, or seven years, in the kindergarten and the 
first grade. The purpose has been to show this unit 
of hterature in its varied connection with those sub- 
jects which bear an essential relation to it. This pre- 
sentation incidentally may serve as an example of 
one method of giving to teachers a course in literature 
by showing what training may be given in a single 
motif y Fairy Tales. Incidentally also it may set forth 
a few theories of education, not isolated from prac- 
tice, but united to the everyday problems where the 
teacher will recognize them with greatest impression. 
In the selection of the subject no undue prominence 
is hereby advocated for fairy tales. We know fairy 
tales about which we could agree with Maria Edge- 
worth when she said: "Even if children do prefer 
fairy tales, is this a reason why their minds should be 
filled with fantastic visions instead of useful knowl- 
edge?" However, there is no danger that fairy tales 
will occupy more than a fair share of the child's in- 
terest, much as he enjoys a tale; for the little child's 
main interest is centered in the actual things of every- 
day life and his direct contact with them. Yet there 
is a part of him untouched by these practical activi- 
ties of his real and immediate life; and it is this which 
gives to literature its unique function, to minister to 
the spirit. Fairy tales, in contributing in their small 
way to this high service, while they occupy a posi- 
tion of no undue prominence, nevertheless hold a 
place of no mean value in education. 



PREFACE vii 

In the study of fairy tales, as of any portion of the 
curriculum or as in any presentation of subject-mat- 
ter, three main elements must unite to form one com- 
bined whole: the child, the subject, and the teaching 
of the subject. In behalf of the child I want to show 
how fairy tales contain his interests and how they 
are means for the expression of his instincts and for 
his development in purpose, in initiative, in judg- 
ment, in organization of ideas, and in the creative 
return possible to him. In behalf of the subject I 
want to show what fairy tales must possess as classics, 
as literature and composition, and as short-stories; to 
trace their history, to classify the types, and to supply 
the sources of material. In behalf of the teaching of 
fairy tales I want to describe the telling of the tale: 
the preparation it involves, the art required in its 
presentation, and the creative return to be expected 
from the child. 

In the consideration of the subject the main pur- 
pose has been to relate fairy tales to the large subjects, 
literature and composition. From the past those tales 
have come down to us which inherently possessed 
the qualities of true classics. In modern times so few 
children's tales have survived because they have been 
written mainly from the point of view of the subject 
and of the child without regard to the standards of 
literary criticism. In the school the teaching of litera- 
ture in the kindergarten and elementary grades has 
been conducted largely also from the point of view of 



viii PREFACE 

the child and of the subject without regard to the 
arts of hterature and composition. In bookshops 
counters are filled with many books that lack literary 
value or artistic merit. The object in this book has 
been to preserve the point of view of the child and of 
the subject and yet at the same time relate the tale to 
the standards of literature and of composition. The 
object has been to get the teacher, every time she 
selects or tells a tale, to apply practically the great 
underlying principles of literature, of composition, 
and of the short-story, as well as those of child-psy- 
chology and of pedagogy. 

This relating of the tale to literary standards will 
give to the teacher a greater respect for the material 
she is handling and a consequent further understand- 
ing of its possibilities. It will reveal what there is in 
the tale to teach and also how to teach it. In teach- 
ing literature as also other art subject-matter in the 
kindergarten and first grade, the problem is to hold 
fast to the principles of the art and yet select, or let 
the child choose, material adapted to his simplicity. 
As the little child uses analysis but slightly, his best 
method of possessing a piece of literature is to do 
something with it. 

The fairy tale is also related to life standards, for 
it presents to the child a criticism of life. By bring- 
ing forward in high light the character of the fairy, 
the fairy tale furnishes a unique contribution to life. 
Through its repeated impression of the idea of fairy- 



PREFACE IS 

hood it may implant in the child a desire which may 
fructify into that pure, generous, disinterested kind- 
ness and love of the grown-up, which aims to play 
fairy to another, with sincere altruism to make ap- 
pear before his eyes his heart's desire, or in a twink- 
ling to cause what hitherto seemed impossible. Fairy 
tales thus are harbingers of that helpfulness which 
would make a new earth, and as such afford a contri- 
bution to the religion of life. 

In stressing the history of fairy tales the purpose 
has been to present fairy tales as an evolution. The 
kindergarten and first-grade teacher must therefore 
look to find her material anywhere in the whole field 
and intimately related with the whole. Special atten- 
tion has been placed upon the English fairy tale as 
the tale of our language. As we claim an American 
literature since the days of Washington Irving, the 
gradual growth of the American fairy tale has been 
included, for which we gratefully acknowledge the 
courtesy of the Librarian of the United States Bureau 
of Education and the Bibliographer of the Library 
of Congress. A particular treatment of some North 
American Indian folk-tales would also be desirable. 
But a study of these tales reveals but one unimpor- 
tant pourquois tale, of sufficient simplicity. This 
study of the natural history of the fairy tale as an 
art form is not necessary for the child. But for the 
teacher it reveals the nature of fairy tales and their 
meaning. It is an aid to that scholarly command of 



X PREFACE 

subject-matter which is the first essential for expert- 
ness in teaching. Only when we view the American 
fairy tale of to-day in the light of its past history can 
we obtain a correct standard by which to judge of its 
excellence or of its worth. 

In the classification of fairy tales the purpose has 
been to organize the entire field so that any tale may 
be studied through the type which emphasizes its 
distinguishing features. The source material endeav- 
ors to furnish a comprehensive treatment of fairy tales 
for the kindergarten and elementary school. 

In the preparation of this book the author takes 
pleasure in expressing an appreciation of the criticism 
and helpful suggestions given by the Editor, Dr. 
Henry Suzzallo, under whose counsel, cooperation, 
and incentive the work grew. The author wishes also 
to make a general acknowledgment for the use of 
many books which of necessity would be consulted in 
organizing and standardizing any unit of literature. 
Special acknowledgment should be made for the use 
of Grimm's Household Tales, edited by Margaret 
Hunt, containing valuable notes and an introduction 
by Andrew Lang; of English Fairy Tales, More Eng- 
lish Fairy Tales, Indian Fairy Tales, and Reynard the 
Fox, and their scholarly introductions and notes, by 
Joseph Jacobs; of Norse Tales and its full introduction, 
by Sir George W. Dasent; of Tales of the Punjab and 
its Appendix, by Mrs. F. A. Steel; of the Uncle Remus 
Books, by J. C. Harris; of Fairy Tales, by Hans C. 



PREFACE xi 

Andersen; of Fairy Mythology and Tales and Popular 
Fictions, by Thomas Keightley; of Principles of Lit- 
erary Criticism, by Professor C. T. Winchester, for its 
standards of Hterature; of English Composition, by 
Professor Barrett Wendell, for its standards of com- 
position; of Professor John Dewey's classification of 
the child's instincts; and of the Kindergarten Review, 
containing many articles of current practice illustrat- 
ing standards emphasized here. 

Recognition is gratefully given for the use of vari- 
ous collections of fairy tales and for the use of any 
particular fairy tale that has been presented in out- 
line, descriptive narrative, criticism, or dramatiza- 
tion. Among collections special mention should be 
made of The Fairy Library, by Kate D. Wiggin and 
Nora A. Smith; the Fairy Books, by Clifton Johnson; 
and the Fairy Books, by Andrew Lang. Among tales, 
particular mention should be made for the use, in 
adaptation, made of Oeyvind and Marit, given in 
Whittier's Child Life in Prose; of The Foolish Timid 
Rabbit, given in The Jataka Tales, by Ellen C. Bab- 
bit; of The Sheep and the Pig, in Miss Bailey's For 
the Children's Hour; of Drakesbill, in The Fairy Ring, 
by Wiggin and Smith; of The Magpie's Nest, in Eng- 
lish Fairy Tales, by Joseph Jacobs; of How the Ever- 
green Trees Lose their Leaves, in The Book of Nature 
Myths, by Miss Holbrook; of The Good-Natured Bear, 
described by Thackeray in "On Some Illustrated 
Christmas Books"; and of The Hop-About-Man, by 



xii PREFACE 

Agnes Herbertson, given in The Story-Teller's Book, 
by Alice O'Grady (Moulton) and Frances Throop. 

The author wishes also to express thanks to the 
many teachers and children whose work has in any 
way contributed to A Study of Fairy Tales. 

Laura F. Kready 
Lancaster, Pennsylvania 
August, 1916 



CONTENTS 

Introduction. By Henry Suzzallo . . . xv 

I. The Worth of Fairy Tales 1 

II. Principles of Selection for Fairy Tales . 13 

III. The Telling of Fairy Tales .... 90 

IV. The History of Fairy Tales . . . .158 
V. Classes of Fairy Tales 204 

VI. Sources of Material for Fairy Tales . . 245 

Appendix 265 

Outline 291 

Index 305 



INTRODUCTION 

The fairy tale has a place in the training of children 
which common sense and a sympathetic attitude 
toward childhood will not deny. Some rigid philoso- 
phers, who see no more of life than is to be found in 
logical science, condemn the imaginative tale. They 
regard the teaching of myths and stories as the tell- 
ing of pleasant lies, which, if harmless, are wasteful. 
What the child acquires through them, he must sooner 
or later forget or unlearn. 

Such arguments carry conviction until one per- 
ceives that their authors are measuring the worth of 
all teaching in terms of strictly intellectual products. 
Life is more than precise information; it is impulse and 
action. The fairy tale is a literary rather than a scien- 
tific achievement. Its realities are matters of feeling, 
in which thought is a mere skeleton to support the 
adventure. It matters little that the facts alleged in 
the story never were and never can be. The values 
and ideals which enlist the child's sympathy are mor- 
ally worthy, affording a practice to those fundamental 
prejudices toward right and wrong which are the ear- 
liest acquisitions of a young soul. The other charac- 
teristics of the tale — the rhythmic, the grotesque. 



xvi INTRODUCTION 

the weird, and the droll — are mere recreation, the 
abundant playfulness which children require to rest 
them from the dangers and terrors which fascinate 
them. 

The fairy tale, like every other literary production, 
must be judged by the fitness of its emotional effects. 
Fairyland is the stage-world of childhood, a realm of 
vicarious living, more elemental and more fancy-free 
than the perfected dramas of sophisticated adults 
whose ingrained acceptance of binding realities de- 
mands sterner stuff. The tales are classics of a partic- 
ular kind; they are children's classics, artful adapta- 
tions of life and form which grip the imaginations of 
little folks. 

The diet of babes cannot be determined by the needs 
of grown-ups. A spiritual malnutrition which starves 
would soon set in if adult wisdom were imposed on 
children for their sustenance. The truth is amply 
illustrated by those pathetic objects of our acquain- 
tance, the men and women who have never been boys 
and girls. 

To cast out the fairy tale is to rob human beings 
of their childhood, that transition period in which 
breadth and richness are given to human life so that 
it may be full and plastic enough to permit the crea- 
tion of those exacting efficiencies which increasing 
knowledge and responsibility compel. We cannot 
omit the adventures of fairyland from our educational 



INTRODUCTION xvii 

program. They are too well adapted to the restless, 
active, and unrestrained life of childhood. They take 
the objects which little boys and girls know vividly 
and personify them so that instinctive hopes and fears 
may play and be disciplined. 

While the fairy tales have no immediate purpose 
other than to amuse, they leave a substantial by-prod- 
uct which has a moral significance. In every reaction 
which the child has for distress or humor in the tale, 
he deposits another layer of vicarious experience which 
sets his character more firmly in the mould of right 
or wrong attitude. Every sympathy, every aversion 
helps to set the impulsive currents of his life, and to 
give direction to his personality. 

Because of the important aesthetic and ethical bear- 
ings of this form of literary experience, the fairy 
stories must be rightly chosen and artfully told. In 
no other way can their full worth in education be real- 
ized. They are tools which require discrimination 
and skill. Out of the wisdom of one who knows both 
tales and children, and who holds a thoughtful grasp 
on educational purpose, we offer this volume of un- 
usually helpful counsel. 

Henky Suzzallo 



A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 



CHAPTER I 



THE WORTH OF FAIRY TALES 

In olde dayes of the kyng Arthour, 

Of which that Britouns speken gret honour, 

Al was this lond fulfilled of fayrie; 

The elf-queen, with hir joly compaignye, 

Daunced ful oft in many a grene mede. 

Chaucbb 



I. TWO PUBLIC TRIBUTES 

Only a few years ago, in the gardens of the Tuiler- 
ies, in Paris, a statue was erected in memory of Charles 
Perrault, to be placed there among the sculptures of 
the never-to-be-forgotten fairy tales he had created, 
— Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beaidyy Puss-in-Boots, 
nop-o*-my- Thumb, Blueheardy and the rest, — so 
that the children who roamed the gardens, and in 
their play gathered about the statues of their beloved 
fairy friends, might have with them also a reminder of 
the giver of all this joy, their friend Perrault. Two 
hundred years before, Perrault truly had been their 
friend, not only in making for them fairy tales, but 
in successfully pleading in their behalf when he said, 
" I am persuaded that the gardens of the King were 
made so great and spacious that all the children may 
walk in them." 



2 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

Only in December, 1913, in Berlin, was completed 
the Mdrchen Brunnen, or " Fairy -Tale Fountain," at 
the entrance to Friedrichshain Park, in which the 
idea of the architect, Stadt-Baurat Ludwig Hoffmann, 
wholly in harmony with the social spirit of the times, 
was to erect an artistic monument to give joy to mul- 
titudes of children. This fairy entrance to the park 
is a decorative lay-out, a central ground surrounded 
by a high, thick lodge of beeches. Toward this cen- 
tral ground — which has been transformed into a 
joyous fairy world — many hedge walks lead; while 
in the sidewalks, to warn naughty children, are con- 
cealed fantastic figures. There is the huge Menschen- 
fresser, who grasps a tender infant in each Titan hand 
and bears on his head a huge basket of children too 
young to have known much wrong. A humorous 
touch, giving distinct charm to the whole creation, 
pervades all. From lions' heads and vases, distributed 
at regular intervals in the semicircular arcade in the 
background, water gushes forth; while in the central 
basin, nine small water animals — seven frogs and 
two larger animals — appear spouting great jets of 
water. Clustered about the central fountain are the 
nine fairy characters of Professor Ignatius Taschner, 
among whom are Red Riding Hood, Hansel and 
Grethel each riding a duck, Puss-in-Boots, Cinderella, 
and Lucky Hans; and looking down upon them from 
the surrounding balustrade are the animal figures by 
Joseph Ranch. In these simple natural classic groups. 



THE WORTH OF FAIRY TALES 3 

fancy with what pleasure the children may look to 
find the friendly beasts and the favorite tales they 
love! 

Such is the tribute to fairy tales rendered by two 
great nations who have recognized fairy tales as the 
joyous right of children. Any education which claims 
to relate itself to present child life can hardly afford 
to omit what is acknowledged as part of the child's 
everyday life; nor can it afford to omit to hand on to 
the child those fairy tales which are a portion of his 
literary heritage. 

II. THE VALUE OF FAIRY TALES IN 
EDUCATION 

In considering fairy tales for the little child, the 
first question which presents itself is, " Why are fairy 
stories suited to the little child, and what is their 
value for him? " 

Fairy tales bring joy into child life. The mission of 
joy has not been fully preached, but we know that 
joy works toward physical health, mental brightness, 
and moral virtue. In the education of the future, 
happiness together with freedom will be recognized 
as the largest beneficent powers that will permit the 
individual of four, from his pristine, inexperienced 
self-activity, to become that final, matured, self- 
expressed, self-sufficient, social development — the 
educated man. Joy is the mission of art and fairy 
tales are art products. As such Pater would say, " For 



4 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

Art comes to you, proposing to give nothing but the 
highest quaUty to your moments as they pass, and sim- 
ply for those moments' sake. Not the fruit of experi- 
ence, but experience, is the end." Such quahty came 
from the art of the fairy tale into the walk of a little 
girl, for whom even the much-tabooed topic of the 
weather took on a new, fresh charm. In answer to a 
remark concerning the day she replied, " Yes, it 's 
not too hot, and not too cold, but just right." All art, 
being a product of the creative imagination, has the 
power to stimulate the creative faculties. " For Art, 
like Genius," says Professor Woodberry, " is common 
to all men, it is the stamp of the soul in them." All 
are creatures of imitation and combination; and the lit- 
tle child, in handling an art product, puts his thought 
through the artist's mould and gains a touch of the 
artist's joy. 

Fairy tales satisfy the play spirit of childhood. 
Folk-tales are the product of a people in a primitive 
stage when all the world is a wonder-sphere. Most 
of our popular tales date from days when the primitive 
Aryan took his evening meal of yava and fermented 
mead, and the dusky Sudra roamed the Punjab. " All 
these fancies are pervaded with that purity by which 
children seem to us so wonderful," said William Grimm. 
"They have the same blue-white, immaculate bright 
eyes." Little children are in this same wonder-stage. 
They believe that the world about throbs with life and 
is peopled with all manner of beautiful, powerful folk. 



THE WORTH OF FAIRY TALES 5 

All children are poets, and fairy tales are the poetic 
recording of the facts of life. In this day of commer- 
cial enterprise, if we would fit children for life we 
must see to it that we do not blight the poets in 
them. In this day of emphasis on vocational training 
we must remember there is a part of life unfed, un- 
nurtured, and unexercised by industrial education. 
Moreover, whatever will be accomplished in life will 
be the achievement of a free and vigorous life of the 
imagination. Before it was realized, everything new 
had existed in some trained imagination, fertile with 
ideas. The tale feeds the imagination, for the soul of 
it is a bit of play. It suits the child because in it he 
is not bound by the law of cause and effect, nor by 
the necessary relations of actual life. He is entirely 
in sympathy with a world where events follow as one 
may choose. He likes the mastership of the universe. 
And fairyland — where there is no time; where trou- 
bles fade; where youth abides; where things come out 
all right — is a pleasant place. 

Furthermore, fairy tales are play forms. " Play,** 
Richter says, " is the first creative utterance of man." 
"It is the highest form in which the native activity 
of childhood expresses itself," says Miss Blow. Fairy 
tales offer to the little child an opportunity for the 
exercise of that self -active inner impulse which seeks 
expression in two kinds of play, the symbolic activity 
of free play and the concrete presentation of types. 
The play, The Light Bird, and the tale, The Bremen 



6 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

Town Musicians, both offer an opportunity for the 
child to express that pursuit of a Ught afar off, a theme 
which appeals to childhood. The fairy tale, because 
it presents an organized form of human experience, 
helps to organize the mind and gives to play the values 
of human life. By contributing so largely to the play 
spirit, fairy tales contribute to that joy of activity, 
of achievement, of cooperation, and of judgment, 
which is the joy of all work. This habit of kinder- 
garten play, with its joy and freedom and initiative, is 
the highest goal to be attained in the method of uni- 
versity work. 

Fairy tales give the child a power of accurate obser- 
vation. The habit of re-experiencing, of visualization, 
which they exercise, increases the ability to see, and is 
the contribution literature offers to nature study. In 
childhood acquaintance with the natural objects of 
everyday life is the central interest; and in its turn 
it furnishes those elements of experience upon which 
imagination builds. For this reason it is rather re- 
markable that the story, which is omitted from the 
Montessori system of education, is perhaps the most 
valuable means of effecting that sense-training, free- 
dom, self-initiated play, repose, poise, and power of 
reflection, which are foundation stones of its struc- 
ture. 

Fairy tales strengthen the power of emotion, de- 
velop the power of imagination, train the memory, 
and exercise the reason. As emotion and imagination 



THE WORTH OF FAIRY TALES 7 

are considered in Chapter ii, in the section, "The 
Fairy Tale as Literature," and the training of the 
memory and the exercise of the reason in connection 
with the treatment of various other topics later on, 
these subjects will be passed by for the present. Every 
day the formation of habits of mind during the pro- 
cess of education is being looked upon with a higher 
estimate. The formation of habits of mind through 
the use of fairy tales will become evident during fol- 
lowing chapters. 

Fairy tales extend and intensify the child's social 
relations. They appeal to the child by presenting 
aspects of family life. Through them he realizes his 
relations to his own parents: their care, their guar- 
dianship, and their love. Through this he realizes 
different situations and social relations, and gains 
clear, simple notions of right and wrong. His sym- 
pathies are active for kindness and fairness, especially 
for the defenseless, and he feels deeply the calamity 
of the poor or the suffering and hardship of the ill- 
treated. He is in sympathy with that poetic justice 
which desires immediate punishment of wrong, un- 
fairness, injustice, cruelty, or deceit. Through fairy 
tales he gains a many-sided view of life. Through his 
dramas, with a power of sympathy which has seemed 
universal, Shakespeare has given the adult world 
many types of character and conduct that are noble. 
But fairy tales place in the hands of childhood all 
that the thousands and thousands of the universe for 



8 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

ages have found excellent in character and conduct. 
They hold up for imitation all those cardinal virtues 
of love and self-sacrifice, — which is the ultimate cri- 
terion of character, — of courage, loyalty, kindness, 
gentleness, fairness, pity, endurance, bravery, indus- 
try, perseverance, and thrift. Thus fairy tales build up 
concepts of family life and of ethical standards, 
broaden a child's social sense of duty, and teach him 
to reflect. Besides developing his feelings and judg- 
ments, they also enlarge his world of experience. 

In the school, the fairy tale as one form of the story 
is one part of the largest means to unify the entire 
work or play of the child. In proportion as the work 
of art, nature-study, game, occupation, etc., is fine, 
it will deal with some part of the child's everyday life. 
The good tale parallels life. It is a record of a portion 
of the race reaction to its environment; and being a 
permanent record of literature, it records experience 
which is universal and presents situations most hu- 
man. It is therefore material best suited to furnish 
the child with real problems. As little children have 
their thoughts and observations directed mainly 
toward people and centered about the home, the fairy 
tale rests secure as the intellectual counterpart to 
those thoughts. As self-expression and self -activity 
are the great natural instincts of the child, in giving 
opportunity to make a crown for a princess, mould a 
clay bowl, decorate a tree, play a game, paint the 
wood, cut paper animals, sing a lullaby, or trip a 



THE WORTH OF FAIRY TALES 9 

dance, the tale affords many problems exercising all 
the child's accomplishments in the variety of his work. 
This does not make the story the central interest, for 
actual contact with nature is the child's chief interest. 
But it makes the story, because it is an organized ex- 
perience marked by the values of human life, the 
unity of the child's return or reaction to his environ- 
ment. The tale thus may bring about that ** living 
union of thought and expression which dispels the 
isolation of studies and makes the child live in varied, 
concrete, active relation to a common world." 

In the home fairy tales employ leisure hours in a 
way that builds character. Critical moments of deci- 
sion will come into the lives of all when no amount of 
reason will be a sufficient guide. Mothers who cannot 
follow their sons to college, and fathers who cannot 
choose for their daughters, can help their children 
best to fortify their spirits for such crises by feeding 
them with good literature. This, when they are yet 
little, will begin the rearing of a fortress of ideals 
which will support true feeling and lead constantly 
to noble action. Then, too, in the home, the illus- 
tration of his tale may give the child much pleasure. 
For this is the day of fairy-tale art; and the child's 
satisfaction in the illustration of the well-known tale 
is limitless. It will increase as he grows older, as he 
understands art better, and as he becomes familiar 
with the wealth of beautiful editions which are at his 
command. 



10 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

And finally, though not of least moment, fairy tales 
afford a vital basis for language training and thereby 
take on a new importance in the child's English. 
Through the fairy tale he learns the names of things 
and the meanings of words. One English fairy tale, 
The Master of all MasterSy is a ludicrous example of 
the tale built on this very theme of names and mean- 
ings. Especially in the case of foreign children, in a 
tale of repetition, such as The Cat and the Mouse, 
Teeny Tiny, or The Old Woman and Her Pig, will the 
repetitive passages be an aid to verbal expression. 
The child learns to follow the sequence of a story and 
gains a sense of order. He catches the note of defi- 
niteness from the tale, which thereby clarifies his think- 
ing. He gains the habit of reasoning to consequences, 
which is one form of a perception of that universal 
law which rules the world, and which is one of the 
biggest things he will ever come upon in life. Never 
can he meet any critical situation where this habit of 
reasoning to consequences will not be his surest guide 
in a decision. Thus fairy tales, by their direct influ- 
ence upon habits of thinking, effect language train- 
ing. 

Fairy tales contribute to language training also by 
providing another form of that basic content which 
is furnished for reading. In the future the child will 
spend more time in the kindergarten and early first 
grade in acquiring this content, so that having en- 
joyed the real literature, when he reads later on he 



THE WORTH OF FAIRY TALES 11 

will be eager to satisfy his own desires. Then reading 
will take purpose for him and be accomplished almost 
without drill and practically with no effort. The read- 
ing book will gradually disappear as a portion of his 
literary heritage. In the kindergarten the child will 
learn the play forms, and in the first grade the real be- 
ginnings, of phonics and of the form of words in the 
applied science of spelling. In music he will learn the 
beginnings of the use of the voice. This will leave him 
free, when he begins reading later, to give attention 
to the thought reality back of the symbols. When the 
elements combining to produce good oral reading are 
cared for in the kindergarten and in the first grade, 
in the subjects of which they properly form a part, 
the child, when beginning to read, no longer will be 
needlessly diverted, his literature will contribute to 
his reading without interference, and his growth in 
language will become an improved, steady accom- 
plishment. 



12 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 



REFERENCES 

Allison, Samuel; and Perdue, Avis: The Story in Primary In- 
struction. Flanagan. 

Blow, Susan; Hill, Patty; and Harrison, Elizabeth: The Kin- 
dergarten. Houghton. 

Blow, Susan: Symbolic Education. Appleton. 

Chamberlain, Alexander: **Folk-Lore in the Schools," Peda- 
gogical Seminary, vol. vii, pp. 347-56. 

Chubb, Percival: "Value and Place of Fairy Stories," Na- 
tional Education Association Report, 1905. 

Dewey, John: The School and the Child. Blackie & Sons. 
Ibid: The School and Society. University of Chicago 
Press. 

"Fairy Tales," Public Libraries, 1906, vol. 11, pp. 175-78. 

Palmer, Luella: "Standard for Kingergarten Training/* 
Kindergarten Review, June, 1914. 

Welsh, Charles: Right Reading for Children. Heath. 



CHAPTER II 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION FOR FAIRY TALES 

All our troubles come from doing that in which we have no in- 
terest. — Epictetus. 

That is useful for every man which is conformable to his own con- 
stitution and nature. — Marcus Aurelius. 

Genuine interest means that a person has identified himself with, 
or found himself in, a certain course of activity. It is obtained not 
by thinking about it and consciously aiming at it, but by consid- 
ering and aiming at the conditions that lie back of it, and compel 
it. — John Dewey. 



I. THE INTERESTS OF CHILDREN 

Now that the value of fairy tales in education has 
been made clear, let us consider some of those prin- 
ciples of selection which should guide the teacher, the 
mother, the father, and the librarian, in choosing the 
tale for the little child. 

Fairy tales must contain what interests children. 
It is a well-known principle that selective interest pre- 
cedes voluntary attention; therefore interest is funda- 
mental. All that is accomplished of permanent good 
is a by-product of the enjoyment of the tale. The 
tale will go home only as it brings joy, and it will 
bring joy when it secures the child's interest. Now 
interest is the condition which requires least mental 
effort. And fairy tales for little children must follow 
that great law of composition pointed out by Herbert 
Spencer, which makes all language consider the au- 



14 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

dience and the economy of the hearer's attention. The 
first step, then, is to study the interests of the child. 
We do not wish to give him just what he Ukes, but we 
want to give him a chance to choose from among 
those things which he ought to have and, as good and 
wise guardians, see that we offer what is in harmony 
with his interests. Any observation of the child's 
interest will show that he loves the things he finds in 
his fairy tales. He enjoys — 

A sense of life. This is the biggest thing in the fairy 
tales, and the basis for their universal appeal. The 
little child who is just entering life can no more escape 
its attraction than can the aged veteran about to leave 
the pathway. The little pig, Whitie, who with his 
briskly curling tail goes eagerly down the road to se- 
cure, from the man who carried a load of straw, a bit 
with which to build his easily destructible house; Red 
Riding Hood taking a pot of jam to her sick grand- 
mother; Henny Penny starting out on a walk, to meet 
with the surprise of a nut f alHng on her head — the 
biggest charm of all this is that it is life. 

The familiar. The child, limited in experience, loves 
to come in touch with the things he knows about. It 
soothes his tenderness, allays his fears, makes him 
feel at home in the world, — and he hates to feel 
strange, — it calms his timidity, and satisfies his 
heart. The home and the people who live in it; 
the food, the clothing, and shelter of everyday life; 
the garden, the plant in it, or the live ant or toad; the 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 15 

friendly dog and cat, the road or street near by, the 
brook, the hill, the sky — these are a part of his world, 
and he feels them his own even in a story. The pre- 
sents which the Rabbit went to town to buy for the 
little Rabbits, in How Brother Rabbit Frightens his 
Neighbors; the distinct names. Miss Janey and Billy 
Malone, given to the animals of In Some Lady*s Gar- 
deny just as a child would name her dolls; and the 
new shoes of the Dog which the Rabbit managed to 
get in Why Mr. Dog Runs after Brother Rabbit — 
these all bring up in the child's experience delightful 
familiar associations. The tale which takes a familiar 
experience, gives it more meaning, and organizes it, 
such as The Little Red Hen, broadens, deepens, and 
enriches the child's present life. 

The surprise. While he loves the familiar, nothing 
more quickly brings a smile than the surprise. Per- 
haps the most essential of the fairy traits is the com- 
bination of the familiar and the unfamiliar. The de- 
sire for the unknown, that curiosity which brings upon 
itself surprise, is the charm of childhood as well as 
the divine fire of the scientist. The naughty little 
Elephant who asked " a new, fine question he had 
never asked before," and who went to answer his own 
question of " what the crocodile has for dinner," met 
with many surprises which were spankings; and as a 
result, he returned home with a trunk and experi- 
ence. He is a very good example of how delightful to 
the child this surprise can be. The essence of the 



16 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

fairy tale is natural life in a spiritual world, the usual 
child in the unusual environment, or the unusual 
child in the natural environment. This combination 
of the usual and unusual is the chief charm of Alice 
in Wonderland, where a natural child wanders through 
a changing environment that is unusual. For an idle 
moment enjoy the task of seeing how many ideas it 
contains which are the familiar ideas of children, and 
how they all have been " made different." All chil- 
dren love a tea-party, but what child would not be 
caught by having a tea-party with a Mad Hatter, a 
March Hare, and a sleepy Dormouse, with nothing 
to eat and no tea! Red Riding Hood was a dear little 
girl who set out to take a basket to her grandmother. 
But in the wood, after she had been gathering a nose- 
gay and chasing butterflies, " just as I might do," any 
child might say, she met a wolf! And what child's ears 
would not rise with curiosity? ** Now something's go- 
ing to happen! " The Three Bears kept house. That 
was usual enough; but everything was different, and 
the charm is in giving the child a real surprise at 
every step. The house was not like an ordinary house; 
it was in the wood, and more like a play-house than a 
real one. There was a room, but not much in it; a 
table, but there was not on it what is on your table — 
only three bowls. What they contained was usual, 
but unusually one bowl of porridge was big and hot, 
one was less big and cold, and one was little and just 
right. There were usual chairs, unusual in size and 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 17 

very unusual when Goldilocks sat in them. Upstairs 
the bedroom was usual, but the beds were unusual 
when Goldilocks lay upon them. The Bears themselves 
were usual, but their talk and action was a delightful 
mixture of the surprising and the comical. Perhaps 
this love of surprise accounts for the perfect leap of 
interest with which a child will follow the Cock in The 
Bremen Town Musicians, as he saw from the top of 
the tree on which he perched, a light, afar off through 
the wood. Certainly the theme of a light in the dis- 
tance has a charm for children as it must have had 
for man long ago. 

Sense impression. Good things to eat, beautiful 
flowers, jewels, the beauties of sight, color, and sound, 
of odor and of taste, all gratify a child's craving for 
sense impression. This, in its height, is the charm of 
the Arabian Nights. But in a lesser degree it appears 
in all fairy tales. Cinderella's beautiful gowns at the 
ball and the fine supper stimulate the sense of color, 
beauty, and taste. The sugar-panes and gingerbread 
roof of the Witch's House, in Hansel and Grethel, 
stir the child's kindred taste for sweets and cook* 
ies. The Gingerbread Boy, with his chocolate jacket, 
his cinnamon buttons, currant eyes, rose-sugar mouth, 
orange-candy cap, and gingerbread shoes, makes the 
same strong sense appeal. There is a natural attrac- 
tion for the child in the beautiful interior of Sleeping 
Beauty's Castle, in the lovely perfume of roses in the 
Beast's Rose-Garden, in the dance and song of the 



18 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

Elves, and in the dance of the Goat and her seven Kids 
about the well. 

The beautiful. Closely related to this love of the 
material is the sense of the beautiful. " Beauty is 
pleasure regarded as the quality of a thing," says 
Santayana. Pleasures of the eye and ear, of the imag- 
ination and memory, are those most easily objecti- 
fied, and form the groundwork on which all higher 
beauty rests. The green of the spring, the odor of 
Red Riding Hood's flowers, the splendor of the Prince's 
ball in Cinderella — these when perceived distinctly 
are intelligible, and when perceived delightfully are 
beautiful. Language is a kind of music, too; the mode 
of speaking, the sound of letters, the inflection of the 
voice — all are elements of beauty. But this mate- 
rial beauty is tied up in close association with things 
** eye hath not seen nor ear heard," the moral beauty 
of the good and the message of the true. The indus- 
try of the little Elves reflects the worth of honest 
effort of the two aged peasants, and the dance of the 
Goat and seven Kids reflects the triumph of mother 
wit and the sharpness of love. The good, the true, 
and the beautiful are inseparably linked in the tale, 
just as they forever grow together in the life of the 
child. The tales differ largely in the element of beauty 
they present. Among those conspicuous for beauty 
may be mentioned Andersen's Thumhelina; the In- 
dian How the Sun, the Moon, and West Wind Went 
Out to Dinner; the Japanese Mezumiy the Beautiful; and 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 19 

the English Robin's Christmas Song. Little Two-Eyes 
stands out as one containing a large element of beauty, 
and Oeyvind and Marit represents in an ideal way the 
possible union of the good, the true, and the beautiful. 
This union of the good, the true, and the beautiful 
has been expressed by an old Persian legend: " In the 
midst of the light is the beautiful, in the midst of the 
beautiful is the good, in the midst of the good is God, 
the Eternal One." 

Wonder, mystery, magic. The spirit of wonder, like 
a will-o'-the-wisp, leads on through a fairy tale, en- 
ticing the child who follows, knowing that something 
will happen, and wondering what. When magic comes 
in he is gratified because some one becomes master 
of the universe — Cinderella, when she plants the 
hazel bough, and later goes to the wishing-tree; the 
fairy godmother, when with her wand she transforms 
a pumpkin to a gilded coach and six mice to beauti- 
ful gray horses; Little Two-Eyes, when she says, — 

Little kid, bleat, 
I wish to eat! 

and immeHiately her little table set with food so 
marvelously appears; or Hop-o'-my-Thumb when he 
steps into his Seven-League Boots and goes like the 
wind. 

Adventure. This is a form of curiosity. In the old 
tale, as the wood was the place outside the usual habi- 
tation, naturally it was the place where things hap- 
pened. Often there was a house in the wood, like the 



20 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

one " amidst the forest darkly green/* where Snow 
White lived with the Dwarfs. This adventure the 
little child loves for its own sake. Later, when he is 
about eleven or twelve, he loves it for its motive. This 
love of adventure is part of the charm of Red Riding 
Hood, of the Three Bears, of the Three Pigs, or of any- 
good tale you might mention. 

Success. The child likes the fairy tale to tell him 
of some one who succeeds. He admires the httle pig 
Speckle who outwitted the Wolf in getting to the field 
of turnips first, or in going to the apple tree at Merry- 
Garden, or to the fair at Shanklin; who built his house 
of brick which would defy assault; and whose clever- 
ness ended the WoK's life. This observation of suc- 
cess teaches the child to admire masterliness, to get 
the motto, Age quod agis, stamped into his child life 
from the beginning. It influences character to follow 
such conduct as that of the Little Red Hen, who took 
a grain of wheat, — her little mite, — who planted it, 
reaped it, made it into bread, and then ate it; who, in 
spite of the Goose and the Duck, secured to herself 
the reward of her labors. 

Action. Akin to his love of running, skipping, and 
jumping, to his enjoyment in making things go and 
in seeing others make things go, is the child's desire 
for action in his fairy tales; and this is just another 
way of saying he wants his fairy tales to parallel Hfe. 
Action is the special charm of the Gingerbread Boy, 
who opened the oven door and so marvelously ran 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 21 

along, outrunning an old Man, an old Woman, a little 
Boy, two Well-Diggers, two Ditch-Diggers, a Bear, 
and a Wolf, until he met the Fox waiting by the cor- 
ner of the fence. Dame Wiggins of Lee and Her Seven 
Wonderful Cats — a humorous tale written by Mrs. 
Sharp, a lady of ninety, edited by John Ruskin, who 
added the third, fourth, eighth, and ninth stanzas, 
and illustrated by Kate Greenaway — has this pleas- 
ing trait of action to a unique degree. So also has The 
Cocky the Mousey and the Little Red Hen, a modern 
tale by Felicite Lefevre. This very popular tale among 
children is a retelling of two old tales combined. The 
Little Red Hen and the Irish Little Rid Hin. 

Humor. The child loves a joke, and the tale that 
is humorous is his special delight. Humor is the 
source of pleasure in Billy Bobtaily where the number 
of animals and the noises they make fill the tale with 
hilarious fun. There is most pleasing humor in Lambi- 
hin. Here the reckless hero frolicked about on his 
little tottery legs. On his way to Granny's house, as 
he met the Jackal, the Vulture, the Tiger, and the 
Wolf, giving a little frisk, he said, — 

To Granny's house I go. 
Where I shall fatter grow. 
Then you can eat me so! 

Later, on returning, when the animals asked, " Have 
you seen Lambikin.? " cozily settled within his Drumi- 
kin, laughing and singing to himself, he called out 

slyly — - 

Lost in the forest, and so are you. 
On, little Drumikin! Tum-pa, turn-too! 



22 ' A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

Humor is the charm, too, of Andersen's Snow Man, 
Here the child can identify himself with the Dog and 
thereby join in the sport which the Dog makes at the 
Snow Man's expense, just as if he himself were en- 
lightening the Snow Man about the Sun, the Moon, 
and the Stove. There is most delightful humor in The 
Cat and the Mouse in Partnership, where the Cat has 
the face to play upon the credulity of the poor house- 
keeper Mouse, who always " stayed at home and did 
not go out into the daytime." Returning home from 
his ventures abroad he named the first kitten Top- 
Off, the second one Half -Out, and the third one Ail- 
Out; while instead of having attended the christening 
of each, as he pretended, he secretly had been visit- 
ing the jar of fat he had placed for safe-keeping in the 
church. 

Poetic justice. Emotional satisfaction and moral 
satisfaction based on emotional instinct appeal to the 
child. He pities the plight of the animals in the Bremen 
Town Musicians y and he wants them to find a refuge, 
a safe home. He is glad that the robbers are chased 
out, his sense of right and wrong is satisfied. Poetic 
justice suits him. This is one reason why fairy tales 
make a more definite impression often than life — be- 
cause in the tale the retribution follows the act so 
swiftly that the child may see it, while in life " the 
mills of the gods grind slowly," and even the adult 
who looks cannot see them grind. The child wants 
Cinderella to gain the reward for her goodness; and 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 23 

he wishes the worthy Shoemaker and his Wife, in the 
Elves and the Shoemaker, to get the riches their indus- 
try deserves. 

The imaginative. Fairy tales satisfy the activity 
of the child's imagination and stimulate his fancy. 
Some beautiful spring day, perhaps, after he has en- 
joyed an excursion to a field or meadow or wood, he 
will want to follow Andersen's Thumbelina in her 
travels. He will follow her as she floats on a lily pad, 
escapes a frog of a husband, rides on a butterfly, lives 
in the house of a field-mouse, escapes a mole of a hus- 
band, and then rides on the back of a friendly swallow 
to reach the south land and to become queen of the 
flowers. Here there is much play of fancy. But 
even when the episodes are homely and the situations 
familiar, as in Little Red Hen^ the act of seeing them 
as distinct images and of following them with interest 
feeds the imagination. For while the elements are 
familiar, the combination is unusual; and this nour- 
ishes the child's ability to remove from the usual situa- 
tion, which is the essential element in all originality. 
By entering into the life of the characters and identi- 
fying himself with them, he develops a large sym- 
pathy and a sense of power, he gains insight into life, 
and a care for the interests of the world. Thus imag- 
ination grows " in flexibility, in scope, and in sym- 
pathy, till the life which the individual lives is in- 
formed with the life of nature and of society," and 
acquires what Professor John Dewey calls Culture. 



24 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

Animals. Very few of the child's fairy tales contain 
no animals. Sou they said of a home: "A house is 
never perfectly furnished for enjoyment unless there 
is in it a child rising three years old and a kitten rising 
six weeks; kitten is in the animal world what a rose- 
bud is in a garden." In the same way it might be said 
of fairy tales : No tale is quite suited to the little child 
unless in it there is at least one animal. Such animal 
tales are The Bremen Town Musicians^ Henny Penny, 
Ludwig and Marleen and The Elephant's Child. The 
episode of the hero or heroine and the friendly animal, 
as we find it retained in Two-Eyes and her little Goat, 
was probably a folk-lore convention — since dropped 
— common to the beginning of many of the old tales. 
It indicates how largely the friendly animal entered 
into the old stories. 

A portrayal of human relations, especially with chiU 
dren. In Cinderella the child is held by the unkind 
treatment inflicted upon Cinderella by her Stepmother 
and the two haughty Sisters. He notes the solicitude 
of the Mother of the Seven Kids in guarding them 
from the Wolf. In the Three Bears he observes a pic- 
ture of family life. A little child, on listening to The 
Three Pigs for the first time, was overwhelmed by one 
thought and cried out, " And did n't the Mother 
come home any more.^ " Naturally the child would 
be interested especially in children, for he is like the 
older boy, who, when looking at a picture-book, glee- 
fully exclaimed, " That 's me! "» He likes to put him- 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 25 

sell in the place of others. He can do it most readily 
if the character is a small individual like Red Riding 
Hood who should obey her mother; or like Goldilocks 
who must not wander in the wood; or like Henny 
Penny who went to take a walk and was accosted by, 
" Where are you going? " In Brother Rabbit and the 
Little Girl the Little Girl takes the keenest enjoyment 
in putting herself in the customary grown-up's place 
of granting permission, while the Rabbit takes the 
usual child's place of mentioning a request with much 
persuasion. The child is interested, too, in the strange 
people he meets in the fairy tales: the clever little 
elves who lived in the groves and danced on the grass; 
the dwarfs who inhabited the earth-rocks and the 
hills; the trolls who dwelt in the wild pine forest or 
the rocky spurs, who ate men or porridge, and who 
fled at the noise of bells; the fairies who pleased with 
their red caps, green jackets, and sprightly ways; the 
beautiful fairy godmother who waved her wonderful 
wand; or those lovely fairy spirits who appeared at 
the moment when most needed — just as all best 
friends do — and who could grant, in a twinkling, the 
wish that was most desired. 

The diminutive. This pleasure in the diminutive is 
found in the interest in the fairy characters, Baby 
Bear, Little Billy-Goat, Little Pig, the Little Elves, 
Teeny Tiny, Thumbelina, and Tom Thumb, as well 
as in tiny objects. In the Tale of Tom Thumb the 
child is captivated by the miniature chariot drawn 



26 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

by six small mice, the tiny butterfly-wing shirt and 

chicken-skin boots worn by Tom, and the small speech 

produced by him at court, when asked his name : — 

My name is Tom Thumb, 
From the Fairies I come; 
When King Arthur shone. 
This court was my home. 
In me he delighted. 
By him I was knighted. 
Did you never hear of 
Sir Thomas Thumb? 

Doll i' the Grass contains a tiny chariot made from 
a silver spoon and drawn by two white mice, and 
Little Two- Eyes gives a magic table. The child takes 
keen delight in the fairy ship which could be folded up 
and put into a pocket, and in the wonderful nut-shell 
that could bring forth beautiful silver and gold 
dresses. The little wagon of Chanticleer and Partlet 
that took them a trip up to the hill, and the tiny mugs 
and beds, table and plates, of Snow White's cottage 
in the wood — such as these all meet the approval of 
child-nature. 

Rhythm and repetition. The child at first loves sound; 
later he loves sound and sense, or meaning. Repeti- 
tion pleases him because he has limited experience 
and is glad to come upon something he has known 
before. He observes and he wants to compare, but 
it is a job. Repetition saves him a task and boldly 
proclaims, " We are the same." Such is the effect of 
the repetitive expressions which we find in Teeny Tiny: 
as, " Now when the teeny-tiny woman got home to 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 27 

her teeny-tiny house, she was a teeny-tiny bit tired "; 
or, in Little Jack Rollaroundy who cried out with such 
vigorous persistence, " Roll me around! " and called 
to the moon, " I want the people to see me! " In The 
Little Rabbit Who Wanted Red Wings^ one of the pleas- 
antest tales for little children, the White Rabbit said 
to his Mammy, " Oh, Mammy, I wish I had a long 
gray tail like Bushy Tail's; I wish I had a back full of 
bristles like Mr. Porcupine's; I wish I had a pair of 
red rubbers like Miss Puddleduck's." At last, when he 
beheld the tiny red-bird at the Wishing-Pond, he 
said, " Oh, I wish I had a pair of little red wings! " 
Then, after getting his wings, when he came home at 
night and his Mammy no longer knew him, he re- 
peated to Mr. Bushy Tail, Miss Puddleduck, and old 
Mr. Ground Hog, the same petition to sleep all night, 
" Please, kind Mr. Bushy Tail, may I sleep in your 
house all night? " etc. Repetition here aids the child 
in following the characters, the story, and its mean- 
ing. It is a distinct help to unity and to clearness. 

The Elephajifs Child is an example of how the lit- 
erary artist has used this element of repetition, and 
used it so wonderfully that the form is the matter and 
the tale cannot be told without the artist's words. 
" 'Satiable curtiosity," " the banks of the great, grey- 
green, greasy, Limpopo River, all set about with 
fever-trees," and " 'Scuse me," are but a few of those 
expressions for which the child will watch as eagerly 
as one does for a signal light known to be due. The 



28 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

repetition of the one word, " curtiosity," throughout 
the tale, simply makes the point of the whole story 
and makes that point delightfully impressive. 

Rhythm and repetition also make a bodily appeal, 
they appeal to the child's motor sense and instinc- 
tively get into his muscles. This is very evident in 
Brother Rabhifs Riddle : — 

De big bird bob en little bird sing; 

De big bee zoon en little bee sting, 

De little man lead en big boss foller — 

Kin you tell wat's good fer a head in a holler? 

The song in Brother Rabbit and the Little Girl appeals 

also to the child's sense of sound: — 

De jay-bird hunt de sparrer-nes; 

De bee-martin sail all 'roun'; 

De squer'l, he holler from de top er de tree, 

Mr. Mole, he stay in de ground; 

He hide en he stay twel de dark drap down — 

Mr. Mole, he hide in de groun'. 

The simple and the sincere. The child's taste for the 
simple and the sincere is one reason for the appeal 
which Andersen's tales make. In using his stories it 
is to be remembered that, although Andersen lacked 
manliness in being sentimental, he preserved the 
child's point of view and gave his thought in the true 
nursery story's mode of expression. Since real senti- 
ment places the emphasis on the object which arouses 
feeling and the sentimental places the emphasis on 
the feeling, sincerity demands that in using Ander- 
sen's tales, one lessen the sentimental when it occurs 
by omitting to give prominence to the feeling. An- 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 29 

dersen's tales reflect what is elementary in human 
nature, childlike fancy, and emotion. His speech is 
characterized by the simplest words and conceptions, 
an avoidance of the abstract, the use of direct lan- 
guage, and a naive poetic expression adapted to gen- 
eral comprehension. He is not to be equaled in child 
conversations. The world of the fairy tale must be 
simple Hke the world Andersen has given us. It must 
be a world of genuine people and honest occupations 
in order to form a suitable background for the super- 
natural. Only fairy tales possessing simplicity are 
suited to the oldest kindergarten child of five or six 
years. To the degree that the child is younger than 
five years, he should be given fewer and fewer fairy 
tales. Those given should be largely realistic stories 
of extreme simplicity. 

Unity of effect. The little child likes the short tale, 
for it is a unity he can grasp. If you have ever lis- 
tened to a child of five spontaneously attempting to tell 
you a long tale he has not grasped, and have observed 
how the units of the tale have become confused in the 
mind that has not held the central theme, you then 
realize how harmful it is to give a child too long a 
story. Unity demands that there be no heaping up 
of sensations, but neat, orderly, essential incidents, 
held together by one central idea. The tale must go 
to the climax directly. It must close according to 
Uncle Remus's idea when he says, " De tale ain't per- 
soon atter em no furder don de place whar dey [the 



30 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

characters] make der disappear'nce." It will say 
what it has to say and lose no time in saying it; and 
often it will attempt to say only one thing. It will 
be remarkable as well for what it omits as for what 
it tells. The Norse Doll i' the Grass well illustrates 
this unity. Boots set out to find a wife and found a 
charming little lassie who could spin and weave a 
shirt in one day, though of course the shirt was tiny. 
He took her home and then celebrated his wedding 
with the pleasure of the king. This unity, which is 
violated in Grimm's complicated Golden Birdy appears 
pleasantly in The Little Pine Tree that Wished for 
New Leaves. Here one feeling dominates the tale, 
the Pine Tree was no longer contented. So she wished, 
first for gold leaves, next for glass leaves, and then 
for leaves like those of the oaks and maples. But the 
robber who stole her gold leaves, the storm that shat- 
tered her glass leaves, and the goat that ate her broad 
green leaves, changed her feeling of discontent, until 
she wished at last to have back her slender needles, 
green and fair, and awoke next morning, happy and 
contented. 

Fairy tales for little children must avoid certain 
elements opposed to the interests of the very young 
child. Temperaments vary and one must be guided 
by the characteristics of the individual child. But 
while the little girl with unusual power of visualiza- 
tion, who weeps on hearing of Thumbling's travels 
down the cow's mouth in company with the hay, may 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION SI 

be the exception, she proves the rule: the little child 
generally should not have the tale that creates an 
emotion of horror or deep feeling of pain. This stand- 
ard would determine what tales should not be given to 
the child of kindergarten age : — 

The tale of the witch. The witch is too strange and 
too fearful for the child who has not learned to dis- 
tinguish the true from the imaginative. This would 
move Hansel and Grethel into the second-grade work 
and Sleeping Beauty preferably into the work of the 
first grade. The child soon gains sufficient experience 
so that later the story impresses, not the strangeness. 

The tale of the dragon. This would eliminate Sieg^ 
fried and the Dragon. A dragon is too fearful a beast 
and produces terror in the heart of the child. Tales 
of heroic adventure with the sword are not suited to 
his strength. He has not yet entered the realm of bold 
adventure where Perseus and Theseus and Hercules 
display their powers. The fact that hero- tales abound 
in delightful literature is not adequate reason for 
crowding the Rhinegold Legends^ Wagner Stories, and 
Tales of King Arthur, into the kindergarten. Their 
beauty and charm do not make it less criminal to pre- 
sent to little children such a variety of images as 
knighthood carries with it. These tales are not suffi- 
ciently simple for the little child, and must produce 
a mental confusion and the crudest of returns. 

(riant tales. This would omit Jack and the BeaU' 
stalk. Jack the Giant- Killer, and Tom Hickathrift, 



32 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

moving them up into the primary field. A little girl, 
when eating tongue, confidingly asked, " Whose 
tongue? " and when told, " A cow's," immediately 
questioned with tenderness, " Don't he feel it? ** 
Thereafter she insisted that she did n't like tongue. 
To a child of such sensibilities the cutting off of heads 
is savage and gruesome and should not be given a 
chance to impress so prominently. Life cannot be 
without its strife and struggle, but the little child 
need not meet everything in life at once. This does 
not mean that absolutely no giant tale would be used 
at this time. The tale of Mr. Miacca, in which " little 
^Tommy could n't always be good and one day went 
round the corner," is a giant tale which could be 
used with young children because it is full of delight- 
ful humor. Because of the simplicity of Tommy's lan- 
guage and his sweet childishness it appeals to the 
child's desire to identify himself with the character. 
Tommy is so clever and inventive and his lively sur- 
prises so brimful of fun that the final effect is entirely 
pleasing. 

Some tales of transformation. The little child is not 
pleased but shocked by the transformation of men 
into animals. A little girl, on looking at an illustra- 
tion of Little Brother and Sister, remarked, " If my 
Sister would turn into a fawn I would cry." When 
the animals are terrifying, the transformation con- 
tains horror for the child. This, together with the 
length and complexity of the story, would move 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 33 

Beauty and the Beast up into the second grade where 
the same transformation becomes an element of pleas- 
ure. A simple tale of transformation, such as The 
Little Lamb and the Little Fishy in which Gretchen 
becomes a lamb and Peterkin a little fish, is inter- 
esting but not horrible, and could be used. So also 
could a tale such as Grimm's Fundevogel, in which 
the brother and sister escape the pursuit of the witch 
by becoming, one a rosebush and the other a rose; 
later, one a church and the other a steeple; and a third 
time, one a pond and the other a duck. In both these 
tales we have the witch and transformation, but the 
effect contains no horror. 

The tale of strange animal relations and strange 
creatures. Tom Tit Tot, which Jacobs considers the 
most delightful of all fairy tales, is brimful of humor 
for the older child, but here the tailed man is not 
suited to the faith and understanding of six years. 
Rumpelstiltshin, its parallel, must also be excluded. 
The House in the Woody and its Norse parallel. The 
Two Step-SisterSy are both very beautiful, but are 
more suited to the second grade. In the kindergarten 
it is much better to present the tale which empha- 
sizes goodness, rather than the two just mentioned, 
which present the good and the bad and show what 
happens to both. Besides there is a certain elation re- 
sulting from the superior reward won by the good 
child which crowds out any pity for the erring child. 
Such elation is a form of selfishness and ought not to 



34 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

be emphasized. Snow White and Rose Red contains the 
strange dwarf, but it is a tale so full of love and good- 
ness and home life that in spite of its length it could 
be used in the first grade. 

Unhappy tales. The very little child pities, and 
its tender heart must be protected from depressing 
sadness as unrelieved as we find it in The Little Match 
Girl. The image of suffering impressed on a child, who 
cannot forget the sight of a cripple for days, is too in- 
tense to be healthful. The sorrow of the poor is one 
of the elements of life that even the very little child 
meets, and it is legitimate that his literature should 
include tales that call for compassion. But in a year 
or two, when he develops less impressionability and 
more poise, he is better prepared to meet such situa- 
tions, as he must meet them in life. 

The tale of capture. This would eliminate Proser- 
pine. No more beautiful myth exists than this one of 
the springtime, but its beauty and its symbolism do 
not make it suitable for the kindergarten. It is more 
suited to the elementary child of the fourth grade. 
In fact, very few myths of any sort find a legitimate 
place in the kindergarten, perhaps only a few of the 
simpler pourquois tales. The Legend of the Pied Piper 
of Hameliny which is very beautiful, and appeals to 
little children because of the piping and of the chil- 
dren following after, should be omitted from the kin- 
dergarten because the capture at the close — the 
disappearance of the children in the hill — is tragic 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 35 

in pathos. It is better to leave the Hterature as it is 
and offer it later when the child reaches the second 
grade. The effect of this tragic end has been realized 
by Josephine Scribner Gates, who {St. NicholaSy No- 
vember, 1914) has given to the children, " And Piped 
Those Children Back Again." This is a modern com- 
pletion of The Pied Piper. It most happily makes the 
little lame boy who was left in Hamelin when the 
Piper closed the door of the mountain, the means of 
the restoration of the other children to their parents. 
The very long tale. This would omit The Ugly 
Duckling. The Ugly Duckling is a most artistic tale 
and one that is very true to life. Its characters are 
the animals of the barn-yard, the hens and ducks 
familiar to the little child's experience. But the theme 
and emotional interest working out at length through 
varied scenes, make it much better adapted to the 
capacities of a third-grade child. The White Cat, a 
feminine counterpart of Puss-in-Boots — which gives 
a most charming picture of how a White Cat, a trans- 
formed princess, helped a youth, and re-transformed 
became his bride — because of its length, is better 
used in the first grade at the same time with Puss-in- 
Boots. The same holds true of Peter, Paul, and Espen, 
or its parallel, Laboulaye's Poucinet. This is a fine 
tale telling how the youngest of three sons succeeded 
in winning the king's favor and finally the princess 
and half the kingdom. First, Espen had to cut down 
the giant oak that shadowed the palace and dig a well 



36 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

in the courtyard of the castle deep enough to furnish 
water the entire year. But after winning in these 
tests, he is required to conquer a great Ogre who 
dwells in the forest, and later to prove himself cleverer 

•3*. 

in intellect than the princess by telling the greater 
falsehood. It is evident that not only the subject- 
matter but the working out of the long plot are much 
beyond kindergarten children. 

The complicated or the insincere tale. This would 
eliminate a tale of complicated structure, such as 
Grimm's Golden Bird; and many of the modern fairy 
tales, which will be dealt with later on. 

The fairy tales mentioned above are all important 
tales which the child should receive at a later time 
when he is ready for them. They are mentioned be- 
cause they all have been suggested for kindergarten 
use. The whole field of children*s literature is largely 
unclassified and ungraded as yet, and such arrange- 
ments as we possess show slight respect for standards. 
There is abundant material for the youngest, and 
much will be gained by omitting to give the very 
young what they will enjoy a Httle later, much better 
and with freshness. It is true that a few classics are 
well-suited to the child at any age, such as Alice in 
Wonderland, The Jungle Books, and Uncle Remus Tales, 
In regard to this grading of the classics. Lamb in 
Mackery End, speaking of his sister's education, said, 
" She was tumbled early, by accident or design, into 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 37 

a spacious closet of good old English reading, without 
much selection or prohibition, and browsed at will 
upon that fair and wholesome pasturage. Had I 
twenty girls they should be brought up exactly in 
this fashion." Lamb would have argued: Set the child 
free in the library and let him choose for himself, and 
feed on great literature, those stories which give gen- 
eral types of situation and character, which give the 
simplest pictures of a people at different epochs. But 
with all due respect to Lamb it must be said that 
Lamb is not living in this scientific day of discovery 
of the child's personality and of accurate attention 
to the child's needs. Because the Odyssey is a great 
book and will give much to any child does not prove 
at all that the same child would not be better off by 
reading it when his interests reach its life. This out- 
look on the problem would eliminate the necessity of 
having the classics rewritten from a new moral view- 
point, which is becoming a custom now-a-days, and 
which is to be frowned upon, for it deprives the lit- 
erature of much of its vigor and force. 

II. THE FAIRY TALE AS LITERATURE 

From the point of view of the child, we have seen 
that in a subjective sense, fairy tales must contain 
the interests of children. In an objective sense, rather 
from the point of view of literature, let us now con- 
sider what fairy tales must contain, what are the main 
standards which determine the value of fairy tales as 



88 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

literature, and as such, subject-matter of real worth to 
the child. 

The old tale will not always be perfect literature; 
often it will be imperfect, especially in form. Yet the 
tale should be selected with the standards of litera- 
ture guiding in the estimate of its worth and in the 
emphasis to be placed upon its content. Such relating 
of the tale to literary standards would make it quite 
impossible later in the primary grades when teaching 
the reading of Three Pigs, to put the main stress on a 
mere external like the expression of the voice. A study 
of the story as literature would have centered the 
attention on the situation, the characters, and the 
plot. If the voice is receiving training in music and 
in the phonics of spelling, then when the reading of 
the tale is undertaken it will be a willing servant to 
the mind which is concentrating on the reality, and 
will express what the thought compels. 

The fairy tale first must be a classic in reality even 
if it lacks the crowning touch of perfect form given 
through the re- treatment of a literary artist. In Rey- 
nard the Fox we have an exact example of the folk- 
tale that has been elevated into literature. But this 
was possible only because the tales originally pos- 
sessed the qualities of a true classic. " A true classic," 
Sainte-Beuve has said, " is one which enriches the 
human mind, has increased its treasure and caused 
it to advance a step, which has discovered some moral 
and unequivocal truth or revealed some eternal pas- 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 39 

sion in that heart where all seemed known and discov- 
ered; which is an expression of thought, observation, 
or invention, in no matter what form, only provided 
it be broad and great, refined and sensible, sane and 
beautiful in itself; which speaks in its own peculiar 
style which is found to be also that of the whole world, 
a style new and old, easily contemporary with all 
time." Immediately some of the great fairy tales 
stand out as answering to this test — Red Riding 
Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Jack and the Beanstalk, Cin- 
derella, Jack the Giant- Killer, — which has been said 
to be the epitome of the whole life of man — Beauty 
and the Beast, and a crowd of others. Any fairy tale 
which answers to the test of a real classic must, like 
these, show itself to contain for the child a permanent 
enrichment of the mind. 

Fairy tales must have certain qualities which be- 
long to all literature as a fine art, whether it is the 
literature of knowledge or the literature of power. 
Literature is not the book nor is it life; but literature 
is the sense of life, whose artist is the author, and the 
medium he uses is words, language. It is good art 
when his sense of life is truth, and fine art when there 
is beauty in that truth. The one essential beauty of 
literature is in its essence and does not depend upon 
any decoration. As words are the medium, literature 
will distinguish carefully among them and use them 
as the painter, for particular lights and shades. Ac- 
cording to Pater literature must have two qualities, 



40 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

mind and soul. Literature will have mind when it 
has that architectural sense of structure which fore- 
sees the end in the beginning and keeps all the parts 
related in a harmonious unity. It will have soul when 
it has that " vagrant sympathy " which makes it 
come home to us and which makes it suggest what it 
does not say. Test the Tale of Cinderella by this stand- 
ard. As to mind, it makes one think of a bridge in 
which the very keystone of the structure is the con- 
dition that Cinderella return from the ball by the 
stroke of twelve. And its ** vagrant sympathy" is 
quite definite enough to reach a maid of five, who re- 
marked: " If I 'd have been Cinderella, I would n*t 
have helped those ugly sisters, would you? " 

If the fairy tale stands the test of literature it must 
have proved itself, not only a genuine classic accord- 
ing to Sainte-Beuve*s standard, and a tale possessing 
qualities of mind and soul according to Pater's Style^ 
but it must have shown itself also a work owning cer- 
tain features distinguishing it as literature. These 
particular literary marks which differentiate the lit- 
erary tale from the ordinary prose tale have been 
pointed out by Professor Winchester in his Principles 
of Literary Criticism. They apply to the old tale of 
primitive peoples just as well as to the modern tale 
of to-day. As literature the tale must have: (1) a 
power to appeal to the emotions; (2) a power to 
appeal to the imagination; (3) a basis of truth; and 
(4) a form more or less perfect. 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 41 

(1) A power to appeal to the emotions. This ap- 
peal to the emotions is its unique distinguishing Ht- 
erary trait. Literature appeals, not to the personal 
emotions but to the universal ones. For this reason, 
through literature the child may come in time to de- 
velop a power of universal sympathy, which is not 
the least value literature has to bestow upon him, 
for this sympathy will become a benediction to all 
those with whom he may have to deal. In order 
that emotion in the tales may be literary — make 
a permanent appeal — according to Professor Win- 
chester's standards, it must have justness given by 
a deep and worthy cause; vividness so that it may 
enlarge and thrill; a certain steadiness produced by 
everything in the tale contributing to the main emo- 
tion; a variety resulting from contrasts of character; 
and a high quality obtained through its sympathy 
with life and its relation to the conduct of life, so that 
the feeling for the material beauty of mere sights and 
sounds is closely related to the deepest suggestions 
of moral beauty. The best literary tales will possess 
emotion having all five characteristics. Many tales 
will exhibit one or more of these traits conspicuously. 
No tale that is literature will be found which does 
not lay claim to some one of these qualities which 
appeal to the broadly human emotions. 

Applying the test of emotion to fairy tales. Cinder- 
ella possesses a just emotion, Cinderella's cause is the 
cause of goodness and kindness and love, and deserves 



42 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

a just reward. The Tovm Musicians of Bremen ex- 
hibits vivid emotion, for all four characters are in the 
same desperate danger of losing life, all four unite to 
save it, and to find a home. Andersen's Steadfast Tin 
Soldier is a good example of steadiness of emotion, as 
it maintains throughout its message of courage. The 
Tin Soldier remained steadfast, whether on the table 
just escaped from the toy-box, or in the street after a 
frightful fall from the window, or spinning in a paper 
boat that bobbed, or sailing under the crossing, or 
lying at full length within the fish that swallowed him, 
or at last melting in the full glare of the hearth fire. 
It is a very good example, too, of vividness of emo- 
tion. The Little Elves illustrates steadiness of emo- 
tion, it is pervaded by the one feeling, that industry 
deserves reward. The French tale, Drakesbill, is es- 
pecially delightful and humorous because " Bill 
Drake " perseveres in his happy, fresh vivacity, at 
the end of every rebuff of fortune, and triumphantly 
continues his one cry of, " Quack, quack, quack! 
When shall I get my money back.? " Lambikin leaves 
the one distinct impression of light gaiety and happy- 
heartedness; and The Foolish, Timid Rabbit preserves 
steadily the one effect of the credulity of the animals, 
made all the more prominent by contrast to the wis- 
dom of the Lion. Variety of emotion appears in tales 
such as Cinderella, Little Two-Eyes, Sleeping Beauty, 
and Three Pigs, where the various characters are 
drawn distinctly and their contrasting traits pro- 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 43 

duce varied emotional effects. All the great fairy tales 
appeal to emotion of a high moral quality and it is 
this which is the source of their universal appeal. It 
is this high moral quality of the spiritual truth, which 
is the center of the tale's unity, holding together all 
the parts under one emotional theme. This is the 
source of the perennial freshness of the old tale; for 
while the immortal truth it presents is old, the person- 
ality of the child that meets it is new. For the child, 
the tale is new because he discovers in it a bit of him- 
self he had not known before, and it retains for him a 
lasting charm so that he longs to hear it again and 
again. The beauty of truth, the reward of goodness, 
and the duty of fairness, give a high emotional qual- 
ity to Little Two-Eyes; and Sleeping Beauty illustrates 
the blighting power of hatred to impose a curse and 
the saving power of love to overcome the works of 
hatred. 

Considering folk-tales from the standpoint of emo- 
tion, if asked to suggest what author's work would 
rank in the same class, one is rather surprised to find, 
that for high moral quality, variety, and worthy 
cause, the author who comes to mind is none other 
than Shakespeare. Perhaps, with all due respect to 
literature's idol, one might even venture to question 
which receives honor by the comparison, Shakespeare 
or the folk-tales? It might be rather a pleasant task 
to discover who is the Cordelia, the Othello, the 
Rosalind, and the Portia of the folk-tales; or who 



U A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

the Beauty, the Bluebeard, the Cinderella, the Puss- 
in-Boots, and the Hop-o'-my-Thumb, of Shakespeare. 

The little child is open to emotional appeal, his 
heart is tender and he is impressionable. If he feels 
with the characters in his tales he develops a power 
of emotion. In Andersen's Snow Man it is hard to 
say which seems more human to him or which makes 
more of an emotional appeal, the Snow Man or the 
Dog. He is sorry for the poor Shoemaker in The Little 
ElveSy glad when he grows rich, delighted for the 
Elves when they receive their presents, and satisfied 
at the happy end. Since literature depicts life and 
character in order to awaken noble emotions, it fol- 
lows that one must omit to present what awakens 
repulsive or degrading emotions. And it is for this 
reason, as has been mentioned under the heading " Ele- 
ments to be avoided," that the tales of the witch and 
the dragon must be excluded, not for all time, but for 
the earliest years, when they awaken horror. 

Through fairy tales we have seen that the emo- 
tional power of the child is strengthened. This has 
been effected because, in the tale just as truly as in 
life, action is presented in real situations; and back 
of every action is the motive force of emotion. This 
cumulative power of emotion, secured by the child 
through the handling of tales, will serve daily a pre- 
sent need. It will be the dynamic force which he will 
require for anything he wishes to accomplish in life. 
It will give the child the ability to use it in any situa- 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 45 

tion similar to that in which it was acquired. It will 
make a difference in his speech; he will not have to 
say so much, for what he does say will produce re- 
sults. This growing power of emotion will cariy over 
into feelings of relation and thus lead to judgment of 
values. This evaluation is the basis of reasoning and 
answers to the child's daily call to think from causes 
to consequences. This increasing power of emotion 
develops into the aesthetic sensibilities and so results 
in a cultivation of taste and an understanding of 
life. Emotion therefore leads to appreciation, which, 
when logically developed, becomes expression. Fairy 
tales, thus, in conducting emotional capacity through 
this varied growth and toward this high development, 
hold an educational value of no mean order. 

(2) The power to appeal to the imagination. Emo- 
tion can be aroused by showing the objects which ex- 
cite emotion. Imagination is this power to see and 
show things in the concrete. Curry says, " When- 
ever the soul comes vividly in contact with any fact, 
truth, etc., whenever it takes them home to itself with 
more than common intensity, out of that meeting of 
the soul and its object there arises a thrill of joy, a 
glow of feeling. It is the faculty that can create ideal 
presence." When through imagination we select spon- 
taneously from the elements of experience and com- 
bine into new wholes, we call it creative imagination. 
— The creative imagination will be viewed here 
as it appears in action in the creative return given 



46 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

by the child to his fairy tales. — When we emphasize 
a similarity seen in mere external or accidental rela- 
tions or follow suggestions not of an essential nature 
in the object, we call it fancy. Ruskin, in his Modern 
PainterSy vol. i, part iii, Of the Imaginative Faculty, 
would distinguish three classes of the imagination: — 
(a) The associative imagination. This is the power 
of imagination by which we call into association other 
images that tend to produce the same or allied emo- 
tion. When this association has no common ground 
of emotion it is fancy. The test for the associative 
imagination, which has the power to combine ideas 
to form a conception, is that if one part is taken away 
the rest of the combination goes to pieces. It requires 
intense simplicity, harmony, and absolute truth. 
Andersen's Fairy Tales are a perfect drill for the asso- 
ciative imagination. Literature parallels life and what 
is presented calls up individual experience. Any child 
will feel a thrill of kinship with the experiences given 
in The Tin Soldier — a little boy's birthday, the 
opening of the box, the counting of the soldiers, and 
the setting of them upon the table. And because here 
Andersen has transformed this usual experience with 
a vivacity and charm, the tale ranks high as a tale of 
imagination. Little Ida's Flowers and Thumhelina are 
tales of pure fancy. Grimm's The Straw, the Coal, and 
the Bean and The Spindle, the Shuttle, and the Needle 
rank in the same class, as also do the Norse The Doll 
i' the Grass and the English Tom Thumb, 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 47 

(b) The penetrative imagination. This power of im- 
agination shows the real character of a thing and de- 
scribes it by its spiritual effects. It sees the heart and 
inner nature of things. Through fancy the child can- 
not reach this central viewpoint since fancy deals 
only with externals. Through the exercise of this 
power the child develops insight, intuition, and a per- 
ception of spiritual values, and gains a love of the 
ideal truth and a perpetual thirst for it. He develops 
genuineness, one of the chief virtues of originality. 
He will tend not to have respect for sayings or opinions 
but will seek the truth, be governed by its laws, and 
hold a passion for perfection. This power of imagina- 
tion makes of him a continual seeker, " a pilgrim upon 
earth." Through the penetrative imagination the 
child forgets himself and enters into the things about 
him, into the doings of Three Pigs or the adventures 
of Henny Penny. 

(c) The contemplative imagination. This is that 
special phase of the imagination that gives to abstract 
being consistency and reality. Through the contem- 
plative imagination the child gains the significance of 
meaning and discerns the true message of the tale. 
When merely external resemblance is caught, when 
the likeness is forced, and the image created believed 
in, we have fancy. The contemplative imagination 
interprets the past in the tale and relates it to the 
future. It shows what is felt by indicating some aspect 
of what is seen. Through the exercise of this power 



48 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

the child develops the capacity to see. This capacity 
has received a high estimate from Ruskin, who said, 
" Hundreds of people can talk for one who can 
think, thousands can think for one who can see.'* 
For language-training the capacity to see gives 
that ability to image words which results in mental 
growth. 

The labor of the spirit seeking the full message of 
the fairy tale, often is rewarded with bits of philo- 
sophy which are the essence of its personal wisdom. 
Even the Woman Suffragists of our day might be 
amused to find, in The Cat and Mouse in Partnershipy 
this side-light on one of their claims. The Mouse 
said she did not know what to think of the curious 
names, Top-off, Half -Out, and All-Out, which the Cat 
had chosen. To which the Cat replied, " That is be- 
cause you always stay at home. You sit here in your 
soft gray coat and long tail, and these foolish whims 
get into your head. It is always the way when one 
does not go out in the daytime." Sometimes the phi- 
losophy of the tale is expressed not at all directly. 
This is the case in Andersen's The Emperor*s New 
Suity a gem in story-telling art — more suited to the 
second grade — where the purpose of the story is 
veiled, and the satire or humor is conveyed through 
a very telling word or two. — " * I will send my old, 
honest minister to the weavers,' thought the Emperor. 
And the old, honest minister went to the room where 
the two swindlers sat working at empty looms. 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 49 

'Heaven preserve me! ' thought the old minister, open- 
ing his eyes wide. *Why, I cannot see anything!* — 
But he did not say so." The entire tale is a concrete 
representation of one point; and the concreteness is so 
explicit that at the close of the story its philosophy 
easily forms itself into the implied message of worldly 
wisdom: People are afraid to speak truth concerning 
much through cowardice or through fear of acting 
otherwise than all the world. The philosophy under- 
lying The Steadfast Tin Soldier is even finer as a bit 
of truth than the perfect art of the literary story : That 
what happens in life does not matter so much as the 
way you take it. The Tin Soldier always remained 
steadfast, no matter what happened. Kipling's 
Elephanfs Child is more charming than ever when 
looked at from the standpoint of its philosophy. It 
might be interpreted as an allegory answering the 
question,** How should one get experience? " a theme 
which cannot be said to lack in universal appeal. The 
Ugly Duckling is full of sayings of philosophy that 
contribute to its complete message. The Cat and the 
Hen to whom the Duckling crept for refuge said, ** We 
and the world," and could not bear a difference of 
opinion. *' You may believe me," said the Hen, ** be- 
cause I tell you the truth. That is the way to tell your 
friends." Their treatment of the Duckling expressed 
the philosophy: ** If you can't do what I can you 're 
no good." The Hen said to him, ** You have nothing 
to do, that 's why you have such strange ideas." The 



50 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

Duckling expressed his philosophy by saying quietly, 
" You don't understand me." 

These bits of philosophy often become compressed 
into expressions which to-day we recognize as prov- 
erbs. The words of the Mother Duck, *' Into the 
water he goes if I have to kick him in," became a 
Scandinavian proverb. " A little bird told it," a com- 
mon saying of to-day, appears in Andersen's Nightin- 
gale and in Thumhelina. But this saying is traceable 
at least to the third story of the fourth night in Stra- 
parola, translated by Keightley, The Dancing Water, 
the Singing Apple, and the Beautiful Green Bird, in 
which the bird tells the King that his three guests are 
his own children. " Even a cat may look at a king," 
is probably traceable to some fairy tale if not to Puss- 
in-Boots. The philosophy in the fairy tales and the 
proverbs that have arisen in them, are subjects which 
offer to the adult much pleasure and fruitfulness. 

But one must ask, " Does this philosophy appeal 
to the child? Is it not adult wisdom foreign to his 
immaturity? " The old folk-tales are the products of 
adult minds; but the adults were grown-ups that 
looked upon the world with the eyes of children, and 
their philosophy often was the philosophy of child- 
hood. For childhood has its philosophy; but because 
it meets with repression on so many sides it usually 
keeps it to itself. When given freedom and self-activ- 
ity and self-expression, the child's philosophy appears 
also. And it is the inner truth of the tale rather than 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 51 

the outer forms of sense and shapes of beauty which, 
when suited to the httle child, appeals to this child- 
philosophy and makes the deepest impression upon 
him. 

In the literary fairy tale there often appears a phi- 
losophy which is didactic and above and beyond the 
child's knowledge of the world. It remains a ques- 
tion how much this adult philosophy appeals to him. 
Although his tales were written for his grandchildren, 
so finished a telling of the tale as we find in Labou- 
laye, with its delightful hits of satire, appeals more 
to the grown-up versed in the ways of the world. But 
the sage remarks of worldly wisdom of Uncle Remus 
could not fail to impress a little boy: '* Go where you 
will and when you may, and stay long ez you choosen 
ter stay, en right dar en den you '11 sholy fin' dat folks 
what git full er consate en proudness is gwine ter git 
it tuck out 'm um." — Uncle Remus treated the little 
boy as if he was " pestered with sense, like grown-ups," 
and surely the little boy gained much amusement 
from sayings such as these: " If you know the man 
that would refuse to take care of himself, I 'd like 
mighty well if you 'd point him out." — " Well, 
well," said Uncle Remus soothingly, " in deze low 
groun's er sorrer, you des got to lean back en make 
allowances fer all sorts er folks. You got ter low fer dem 
dat knows too much same ez dem what knows too 
little. A heap er sayin's en a heap er doin's in dis 
roun' worl' got ter be tuck on trus'. " — The child 



52 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

does not get the full force of the philosophy but he 
gets what he can and that much sinks in. 

It is through the contemplative imagination that 
the child realizes the meaning of particular tales. He 
learns: that Cinderella means that goodness brings 
its own reward; that Three Pigs means that the wise 
build with care and caution, with foresight; that Star 
Dollars means compassion for others and kindness to 
them; and that Red Riding Hood means obedience. 

The power of the contemplative imagination is 
based on the indistinctness of the image. It suggests, 
too, the relation between cause and effect, which rea- 
son afterwards proves; and therefore it is a direct aid 
to science. In the tales there are expressed facts of 
truth symbolically clothed which science since then 
has discovered. And now that folk-lore is being stud- 
ied seriously to unfold all it gives of an earlier life, 
perhaps this new study may reveal some new truths 
of science hidden in its depths. The marvels of mod- 
ern shoe manufacture were prophesied in The Little 
Elves, and the power of electricity to hold fast was 
foretold in Dummling and his Golden Goose. The won- 
ders of modern machinery appeared in the magic axe 
of Espen that hit at every stroke; and the miracle of 
modern canals sees a counterpart in the spring which 
Espen brought to the giant's boiling-pot in the wood. 
The magic sleep from which there was an awakening, 
even after a hundred years, may have typified hyp- 
notism and its strange power upon man. These are 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 53 

realizations of some of the wonders of fairyland. But 
there may be found lurking in its depths many truths 
as yet undiscovered by science. Perhaps the dreams 
of primitive man may suggest to the present-day sci- 
entist new possibilities. — What primitive man has 
done in fancy present-day man can do in reality. 

(3) A basis of truth. All fine emotional effects arise 
from truth. The tale must hold the mirror and show 
an image of life. It must select and combine facts 
which will suggest emotion but the facts must be a 
true expression of human nature. The tale, whether 
it is realistic in emphasizing the familiar, the common- 
place, and the present, or romantic in emphasizing the 
strange, the heroic, and the remote, must be idealistic 
to interpret truly the facts of life by high ideals. If 
the tale has this basis of truth the child will gain, 
through his handling of it, a body of facts. This in- 
creases his knowledge and strengthens his intellect. 
And it is to be remembered that, for the child's all- 
round development, the appeal of literature to the 
intellect is a value to be emphasized equally with the 
appeal to the emotions and to the imagination. Speak- 
ing of the nature of the intellect in his essay on Intel- 
lect, Emerson has said: " We do not determine what 
we will think. We only open our senses, clear away 
as we can all obstruction from the fact, and suffer the 
intellect to see." Attention to the intellectual ele- 
ment in literature gives a power of thought. The con- 
sideration of the truth of the fairy tale aids the child 



54 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

to clear, definite thinking because the experience of the 
tale is ordered from a beginning, through a develop- 
ment, to a climax, and to a conclusion. It assists him 
to form conclusions because it presents results of cir- 
cumstances and consequences of conduct. Contin- 
ued attention to the facts, knowledge, and truth pre- 
sented in the tales, helps the child to grow a sincerity 
of spirit. This leads to that love of actual truth, which 
is one of the armors of middle life, against which false 
opinion falls harmless. 

(4<) A form, more or less perfect. Form is the union 
of all the means which the writer employs to convey 
his thought and emotion to the reader. Flaubert has 
said, *' Among all the expressions of the world there is 
but one, one form, one mode, to express what I want 
to say." — " Say what you have to say, what you have 
a will to say, in the simplest, the most direct and 
exact manner possible, with no surplusage," Walter 
Pater has spoken. Then the form and the matter will 
fit each other so perfectly there will be no unneces- 
sary adornment. 

In regard to form it is to be remembered that feeling 
is best awakened incidentally by suggestion. Words 
are the instruments, the medium of the writer. Words 
have two powers : the power to name what they mean, 
or denotation; and the power to suggest what they 
imply, or connotation. Words have the power of con- 
notation in two ways: They may mean more than 
they say or they may produce emotional effect not 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 55 

only from meaning but also from sound. To make 
these two suggestive powers of words work together 
is the perfect art of Milton. Pope describes for us the 
relation of sound to sense in a few lines which them- 
selves illustrate the point: — 

Soft is the strain when zephyr gently blows. 

And the smooth stream in smoother numbers flows. 

But when loud surges lash the sounding shore. 

The hoarse, rough verse, should like the torrent roar. 

When Ajax strives some rock's vast weight to throw. 

The line too labors, and the words move slow: 

Not so when swift Camilla scours the plain. 

Flies o'er the unbending corn and skims along the main. 

When a kindergarten child, the most timid one of a 
group, on listening to the telling of The Bremen Town 
Musicians, at the description of the Donkey and the 
Dog coming to the Cat, sitting in the road with a face 
** dismal as three rainy Sundays,'* chuckled with 
humor at the word " dismal," it was not because she 
knew the meaning of the word or the significance of 
" three rainy Sundays," but because the sounds of 
the words and the facial expression of the story-teller 
conveyed the emotional effect, which she sensed. 

The connection between sound and action appears 
in Little Spider's First Web: The Fly said, " Then I will 
buzz "; the Bee said, " Then I will hum "; the Cricket 
said, " Then I will chirp "; the Ant said, " Then I will 
run to and fro "; the Butterfly said, " Then I will fly**; 
and the Bird said, " Then I will sing.** The effect is 
produced here because the words selected are con- 
crete ones which visualize. Repetitive passages in the 



56 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

tales often contribute this effect of sound upon mean- 
ing, as we find in The Three Billy-Goats Gruff: " Trip, 
trap; trip, trap! went the bridge as the youngest 
Billy-Goat Gruff came to cross the bridge." The 
sound of the words in this entire tale contributes 
largely to the meaning. The Troll roared and said, 
" Now I 'm coming to gobble you up! " Usually the 
bits of rhyme interspersed throughout the tales, illus- 
trate this contribution of sound to meaning; as in the 
Three Pigs: — 

Then I'U huff. 

And I'll puff. 

And I'll blow your house in! 

Especially is this the case in tales dignified by the 
cante-fable form; such as Grimm's Cinderella: — 

Rustle and shake yourself, dear tree. 
And silver and gold throw down to me! 

Or in Little Two- Eyes: — 

Little kid, bleat, 
I wish to eat! 

Or in The Little Lamb and the Little Fish: — 

Ah, my brother, in the wood 

A lamb, now I must search for food! 

The suggestive power of words to convey more 
than they mean, is produced, not only by the sounds 
contained in the words themselves, but also largely 
by the arrangement of the words and by the speech- 
tunes of the voice in speaking them. Kipling's Ele- 
phant* s Child is a living example of the suggestive 
power of words. The " new, fine question " suggests 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 57 

that the Elephant's Child had a habit of asking ques- 
tions which had not been received as if they were fine. 
" Wait-a-bit thorn-bush," suggests the Kolokolo Bird 
sitting alone on the bush in placid quiet. " And still 
I want to know what the crocodile has for dinner " 
implies that there had been enough spankings to have 
killed the curiosity, but contrary to what one would 
expect, it was living and active. When Kolokolo Bird 
said with a mournful cry, "Go to the banks of the 
great, grey-green, greasy Limpopo River," etc., the 
implication of mournful is, that there the Elephant's 
Child would have a sorry time of it. The expression, 
** dear families," which occurs so often, is full of de- 
lightful irony and suggests the vigorous treatment, 
anything but dear, which had come to the Elephant's 
Child from them. 

Perfect form consists in the " ability to convey 
thought and emotion with perfect fidelity." The gen- 
eral qualities characteristic of perfect form, which 
have been outlined by Professor Winchester, in his 
Principles of Literary Criticism, are: (1) precision or 
clearness; (2) energy or force; (3) delicacy or emotional 
harmony; and (4) personality. Precision or clearness 
demands the precise value and meaning of words. 
It requires that words have the power of denotation. 
It appeals to the intellect of the reader or listener and 
demands that language be neither vague nor ambig- 
uous nor obscure. Energy or force demands that 
perfect form have the quality of emotion. It requires 



58 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

that words have especially the power of connotation. 
It appeals to the emotions of the reader or listener 
and has the power to hold the attention. It demands 
of language that sympathy which will imply what 
it would suggest. Delicacy or emotional harmony de- 
mands that perfect form please the taste. It requires 
that an emotional harmony be secured by a selection 
and arrangement of the melody of words and of the 
emotional associations which, together with the mean- 
ings, are tied up in words. It demands that words 
have the power of perfect adaptation to the thought 
and feeling they express, that words have both the 
power of denotation and of connotation. It appeals 
to the aesthetic sense of the reader or listener, it gives 
to form beauty and charm. Personality is the influ- 
ence of the author, the charm of individuality, and 
suggests the character of the writer. 

At the same time that perfect form is characterized 
by the general qualities of precision, energy, deli- 
cacy, and personality, as composition consisting of 
words, sentences, paragraphs, or large wholes, its ele- 
ments must be controlled by certain main principles, 
which have been presented by Professor Barrett Wen- 
dell in English Composition. Perfect form cannot pos- 
sess the four general qualities above mentioned unless 
its elements are controlled by these main principles. 
These are: (1) the principle of sincerity; (2) the prin- 
ciple of unity; (3) the principle of mass; and (4) the 
principle of coherence. Sincerity demands of perfect 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 59 

form that it be a just expression. Unity demands 
that every composition should group itself about a 
central idea. There must be one story, all incidents 
subordinated, one main course of action, one main 
group of characters, and one tone of feeling to produce 
an emotional effect. Variety of action must lead to 
one definite result and variety of feeling to one total 
impression. Unity demands that the tale must have 
a plan that is complete, with no irrelevant material, 
and that there must be a logical order and a climax. 
Mass demands that the chief parts of every composi- 
tion should readily catch the eye. It maintains a har- 
monious proportion of all the parts. Coherence de- 
mands of any composition that the relation of each 
part to its neighbors should be unmistakable, and 
that the order, forms, and connections of the parts 
preserve this relation. 

When form secures a perfect adaptation of the lan- 
guage to the thought and feehng expressed, it may be 
said to possess style, in a broad sense of the word. 
In a more detailed sense, when form is characterized 
by precision, energy, delicacy, and personality, and 
at the same time has the elements of its composition 
controlled by the principles of sincerity, unity, mass, 
and coherence, it is said to possess style. The fairy 
tale which is a classic characterized by that perfect 
form called style, will possess the general qualities 
of precision, energy, delicacy, and personality; and 
the elements of its structure, its words, its sentences. 



60 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

its paragraphs, will display a control of the principles 
of sincerity, unity, mass, and coherence. 

A tale which well illustrates the hterary form pos- 
sible to the child's tale, which may be said to possess 
that perfection of form we call style, and which may 
be used with the distinct aim to improve the child's 
English and perfect his language expression, is the 
modern realistic fairy tale, Oeyvind and Marit. 

Oeyvind and Marit is so entirely realistic as to be excluded 
here, but the talking rhymes which the Mother sings to 
Oeyvind bring in the fairy element of the talking animals. 
In the form of this tale, the perfect fidelity with which the 
words fit the meaning is apparent — nothing seems super- 
fluous. When Oeyvind asked Marit who she was, she re- 
plied : — 

"I am Marit, mother's little one, father's fiddle, the elf in the 
house, granddaughter of Ole Nordistuen of the Heidi farms, four 
years old in the autumn, two days after the frost nights, I!" 

And Oeyvind replied: — 

"Are you really?" — and drew a long breath which he had not 
dared to do so long as she was speaking. 

The story is full of instances illustrating precision, energy, 
and delicacy. In fact, almost any passage exemplifies the 
general qualities of form and the qualities of composition. 
The personality of the writer has given to the tale a poetic 
and dramatic charm of simplicity. Note the precision and 
delicacy displayed in the opening paragraph: — 

Oeyvind was his name. A low barren cliff overhung the house 
in which he was born; fir and birch looked down on the roof, and 
wild cherry strewed flowers over it. Upon this roof there walked 
about a little goat, which belonged to Oeyvind. He was kept there 
that he might not go astray; and Oeyvind carried leaves and grass 
up to him. One fine day the goat leaped down, and away to the 
cliff; he went straight up and came where he never had been before. 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 61 

Energy is apparent in the following passage: — 

"Is it yours, this goat?" asked the girl again. 

"Yes," he said, and looked up. 

"I have taken such a fancy to the goat. You will not give it to 
me?*' 

"No, that I won't." 

She lay kicking her legs and looking down at him, and then she 
said, " But if I give you a butteivcake for the goat, can I have him 
then?" 

The justness of expression, the sincerity, is especially im- 
pressive when Oeyvind's Mother came out and sat down by 
his side when the goat no longer satisfied him and he wanted 
to hear stories of what was far away. There is emotional 
harmony too, because the words suggest the free freshness 
of the mountain air and the landscape which rose round 
about the Boy and his Mother. 

So she told him how once everything could talk: "The mountain 
talked to the stream, and the stream to the river, the river to the 
sea, and the sea to the sky." — But then he asked if the sky did 
not talk to any one: "And the sky talked to the clouds, the clouds 
to the trees, the trees to the grass, the grass to the flies, the flies to 
the animals, the animals to the children, the children to the grown- 
up people. . . ." Oeyvind looked at the mountain, the trees, and 
the sky and had never seen them before. 

There is delicacy or emotional harmony also in the 
Mother's song. When Oeyvind asked, "What does the Cat 
say?" his Mother sang: — 

At evening softly shines the sun. 
The cat lies lazy on the stone. 
Two small mice. 
Cream, thick and nice. 
Four bits of fish, 
I stole behind a dish, 
And am so lazy and tired. 
Because so well I have fared. 

The unity is maintained through the central interest of 
the two Children and the goat. 
The tale is characterized by fairly good mass. As the 



62 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

story aims to portray a natural picture of child life, obvi- 
ously it could not maintain a style of too great solidity and 
force, but rather would seek one of ease and naturalness. 
Mass, as shown in Oeyvind and Marii, appears in the follow- 
ing description of Oeyvind's play with the goat, after he 
first realized its return : — 

He jumped up, took it by the two fore-legs, and danced with it 
as if it were a brother; he pulled its beard, and he was just going in 
to his mother with it, when he heard someone behind him; and look- 
ing, saw the girl sitting on the greensward by his side. Now he 
understood it all, and let go the goat. 

The story of child-friendship is told in distinct little epi- 
sodes which naturally connect. That unmistakable rela- 
tion of the parts which is essential to coherence, appears in 
the following outline of the story: — 

1. A new acquaintance: Oeyvind and Marit meet. 

The exchange of a goat for a cake. 

The departure of the goat. Marit sings to the goat. 

The return of the goat. Marit accompanies the goat. 

2. New interests. 

The stories of what the animals say, told to Oeyvind by his 

Mother. 
The first day of school. 
8. An old acquaintance renewed: Oeyvind again meets Marit at 

school. 

The Children's love of the goat, the comradeship of Oey- 
vind and Marit, of Oeyvind and his Mother, and of Marit 
and her Grandfather, are elements which assist in produc- 
ing coherence. The songs of Marit, and the songs and stories 
of Oeyvind's Mother, especially preserve the relation of 
parts. In the following paragraphs, which give distinct 
pictures, note the coherence secured internally largely by 
the succession of verbs denoting action and also by the de- 
notation of the words. 

When he came in, there sat as many children round a table as 
he had ever seen at church; others were sitting on their luncheon- 
boxes, which were ranged round the walls; some stood in small 
groups round a large printed card; the school-master, an old gray- 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 63 

haired man, was sitting on a stool by the chimney-corner, filling 
his pipe. They all looked up as Oeyvind and his mother entered, 
and the mill-hum ceased as if the water had suddenly been turned 
off 

As he was going to find his seat, they all wanted to make room 
for him. He looked round a long time, while they whispered and 
pointed; he turned round on all sides, with his cap in his hand and 
his book under his arm. . . . 

Just as the boy is going to turn round to the school-master, he 
sees close beside him, sitting down by the hearthstone on a little 
red painted tub, Marit, of the many names; she had covered her 
face with both hands, and sat peeping at him through her fingers. 

The imagination is appealed to continually through the 
simple concrete expressions which present an image; as, 
**He grew hot all over, looked around about, and called, 
*Killy-killy-killy-goat!' " 

The emotional element is distinct and pleasing and con- 
tributes to the total impression of admiration for the char- 
acters. We admire Oeyvind for his fondness for the goat 
and for his pain at losing it; for his dissatisfaction in keep- 
ing it after Marit returned it, though she wanted it; for his 
delight in his Mother's stories ; and for his pleasure in Marit's 
friendship at school. We admire Marit for her appreciation 
of the beautiful goat; for her obedience to her Grandfather; 
for her sorrow at giving up the goat; for her generosity in 
giving the neck-chain with it; and for the childish comrade- 
ship she gave to Oeyvind. We admire the goat for his loy- 
alty to his little master. We trust the Grandfather who 
trained Marit to be fair and courteous; who guarded her 
from the cliflF; and who bought for her another goat. We 
have faith in the Mother who had feeling for the little goat 
her son bartered for a cake; and who had the wisdom to 
sing for her little boy and tell him stories when he was sor- 
rowful and needed new interests. 

Undoubtedly Oeyvind and Marit is a tale which conveys 
its thought clearly and makes you feel its feeling, and there- 
fore may be said to possess style in a broad sense. In a par- 
ticular sense, because its form is marked by the four general 
qualities; precision, energy, delicacy, and personality; and 



64 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

its elements are controlled by the principles of composition: 
sincerity, unity, mass, and coherence, it therefore may be 
said to possess style. 

An old tale which has a literary form unusual in its ap- 
proach to the perfect literary form, is the Norse, The Three 
Billy-Goats Grvff, told by Dasent in Tales from the Norse. 
Indeed after looking carefully at this tale one is tempted to 
say that, for perfection of style, some of the old folk-tales 
are not to be equaled. Note the simple precision shown in 
the very first paragraph: — 

Once on a time there were three Billy-Goats, who were to go up 
to the hill-side to make themselves fat, and the name of all three 
was "Gruff." 

Energy or force appeals to the emotions in the words of 
the tiny Billy-Goat Gruff to the Troll: — 

"Oh, no! pray don't take me. I'm too little, that I am," said 
the Billy-Goat; "wait a bit till the second Billy-Goat Gruff comes, 
he's much bigger." 

There is emotional harmony displayed in the second para- 
graph; the words used fit the ideas: — 

On the way up was a bridge over a burn they had to cross; and 
under the bridge lived a great ugly Troll, with eyes as big as sau- 
cers, and a nose as long as a poker. 

The quality of personality is best described, perhaps, by 
saying that the tale seems to have impersonality. Any 
charm of the story-tellers of the ages has entered into the 
body of the tale, which has become an objective present- 
ment of a reality that concentrates on itself and keeps per- 
sonality out of sight. The character of the tellers is shown 
however in the qualities of the tale. The charm of the primi- 
tive story-tellers has given the tale inimitable morning- 
dew freshness. This seems to result from a fine simplicity, 
a sprightly visualization, a quaint picturesqueness, a pleas- 
ing terseness, and an Anglo-Saxon vigor. 

Sincerity is displayed in the words of the Troll and of the 
three Billy-Goats. Note the sincerity of little Billy-Goat 
Gruff: — 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 65 

"Oh! it is only I, the tiniest Billy-Goat Gruflf; and I'm going up 
to the hillside to make myself fat," said the BiUy-Goat, with such 
a small voice. 

The unity in this tale is unusually good. The central idea 
which groups all the happenings in the tale is: Three Billy- 
Goats are crossing a bridge to go up to the hillside to make 
themselves fat. There are four characters, three Goats and 
the Troll. All that happens in the tale contributes to the one 
effect of a bridge going trip, trap! as a Goat crossed it on 
his way up the hillside; of a Troll roaring: "Who's that 
tripping over my bridge.'*" of the explanation of the Billy- 
Goat; of the answer of the Troll, "Now I'm coming to gob- 
ble you up"; and of the Billy-Goat's final petition. Unity 
is emphasized by the repetition in the tale, as the three Billy- 
Goats successively cross the bridge and reply to the Troll. 
The climax is the big Billy-Goat Gruff's tramp across the 
bridge. 

This tale is characterized by perfect mass, the paragraphs 
always end with words that deserve distinction, and the 
sentences have their strongest words at the points where 
the eye would most readily see them; as, "But just then up 
came the big Billy-Goat Gruff." The coherence is fine, and 
is secured largely by the cumulative plan in a threefold 
sense. The relation of the parts is unmistakable. The simi- 
larity and contrast evident in the episodes of the three 
Billy-Goats makes this relation very clearly defined. To 
make doubly sure the end has been reached the tale con- 
cludes: — 

Snip, snap, snout, 

This tale's told out. 

Let us examine the folk-tale generally as to its lit- 
erary form. The folk-tale originally did not come 
from the people in literary form. The tale was first 
told by some nameless primitive man, who, return- 
ing from some adventure of everyday life, would nar- 
rate it to a group of his comrades. First told to as- 



66 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

tonish and interest, or to give a warning of the pen- 
alty of breaking Nature's laws, or to teach a moral 
lesson, or to raise a laugh, later it became worked up 
into the fabulous stories of gods and heroes. These 
fabulous stories developed into myth-systems, and 
these again into household tales. By constant repeti- 
tion from one generation to another, incidents likely 
to happen in everyday life, which represented uni- 
versal experiences and satisfied common needs of 
childhood, were selected and combined. These grad- 
ually assumed a form of simplicity and literary charm, 
partly because, just as a child insists on accuracy, 
savage people adhered strictly to form in repeating 
the tale, and because it is a law of permanence that 
what meets the universal need will survive. The great 
old folk-tales have acquired in their form a clearness 
and precision; for in the process of telling and re-tell- 
ing through the ages all the episodes became clearly 
defined. And as irrelevant details dropped out, there 
developed that unity produced by one dominant 
theme and one dominant mood. The great old folk- 
tales, then, naturally acquired a good classic literary 
form through social selection and survival. But many 
of the tales as we know them have suffered either 
through translation or through careless modern re- 
telling. Many of the folk-tales take on real literary 
form only through the re-treatment of a literary art- 
ist. Mrs. Steel, who has collected the Tales of the 
Punjab, tells how the little boys of India who seek to 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 67 

hold their hstening groups will vary the incidents in a 
tale in different tellings, proving that the complete tale 
was not the original unit, but that single incidents 
are much more apt to retain their stock forms than 
plots. The combination we now have in a given tale 
was probably a good form once hit upon and there- 
after transmitted. 

Jacob (1785-1863) and William (1786-1859) Grimm, 
both fine scholars, incapable of any but good work, 
did not undertake to put the tale into literary form 
suited to children. They were interested in preserv- 
ing folk-lore records for scientific purposes. And we 
must distinguish between the tale as a means of re- 
flecting the ideals of social and religious life, of dis- 
playing all the genius of primitive man for science to 
interpret, and the tale as a means of pleasing and 
educating the child. The Grimms obtained most of 
their tales from the lips of people in Hesse and Hanau, 
Germany. They were very fortunate in securing many 
of the tales they were thirteen years in collecting, from 
an old nurse, Frau Viehmannin, the wife of a cow- 
herd, who lived at Niederzwehrn, near Cassel, who 
told her story with exactness and never changed any- 
thing in repeating. Grimm himself said, " Our first 
care was faithfulness to the truth. We strove to pene- 
trate into the wild forests of our ancestors, listening 
to their noble language, watching their pure customs, 
recognizing their ancient freedom and hearty faith.'* 
The Grimms sought the purity of a straightforward 



68 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

narration. They were against reconstruction to beau- 
tify and poetize the legends. They were not opposed 
to a free appropriation for modern and individual 
purposes. They kept close to the original, adding 
nothing of circumstance or trait, but rendering the 
stories in a style and language and development of 
detail which was their own literary German. 

Perrault (1628-1703) had taken the old tales as his 
son, Charles, a lad of ten or twelve, told them. The 
father had told them to the son as he had gathered 
them up, intending to put them into verse after the 
manner of La Fontaine. The lad loved the stories and 
re-wrote them from memory for his father with such 
charming naivete that the father chose the son's ver- 
sion in preference to his own, and published it. But 
the tales of Perrault, nevertheless, show the embel- 
lishment of the mature master-Academician's touch 
in subduing the too marvelous tone, or adding a bit 
of court manners, or a satirical hit at the vanity and 
failings of man. 

Dasent (1820-96) has translated the Norse tales 
from the original collection of Asbjornsen and Moe. 
Comrades from boyhood to manhood, scholar and 
naturalist, these two together had taken long walks 
into the secluded peasant districts and had secured 
the tales from the people of the dales and fells, care- 
ful to retain the folk-expressions. Dasent, with the 
instinct, taste, and skill of a true scholar, has pre- 
served these tales of an honest manly race, a race of 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 69 

simple men and women, free and unsubdued. He has 
preserved them in their folk-language and in their 
true Norse setting. Harris (1848-1908) has given his 
tales in the dialect of Uncle Remus. Jacobs (1854- ) 
has aimed to give the folk-tales in the language of the 
folk, retaining nurses* expressions, giving a colloquial 
and romantic tone which often contains what is ar- 
chaic and crude. He has displayed freedom with the 
text, invented whole incidents, or completed incidents, 
or changed them. His object has been to fill chil- 
dren's imaginations with bright images. Andrew 
Lang (1844-1912) has given the tale mainly to enter- 
tain children. He has accepted translations from 
many sources and has given a straightforward narra- 
tion. He has collected fairy tales indefatigably in his 
rainbow Fairy Books, but they are not always to be 
recommended for children. 

Andersen (1805-75), like Perrault, made his tale 
for the child as an audience, and he too has put the 
tale into literary form. Andersen's tale is not the old 
tale, but an original creation, a number of which are 
based on old folk-material. Preserving the child's 
point of view, Andersen has enriched his language 
with a mastery of perfection and literary style. And 
the " mantle of Andersen " has, so far, fallen on no 
one. 

To-day it is to be questioned if the child should be 
given the tale in nurses' talk. To-day children are 
best cared for by mothers who feel ignorant if they 



70 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

cannot tell their children stories, and who, having an 
appreciation of their mother English, want their chil- 
dren to hear stories, not only told by themselves 
rather than by their servants, but also told in the best 
literary form possible. They recognize that these 
earliest years, when the child is first learning his lan- 
guage, are the years for a perfection of form to become 
indelibly impressed. The fairy tale, like every piece 
of literature, is an organism and ** should be put be- 
fore the youngest child with its head on, and standing 
on both feet." The wholesale re-telling of every tale 
is to be deplored. And stories which have proved 
themselves genuine classics, which have a right to 
live, which have been handed down by tradition, 
which have been preserved by folk-lore records, and 
which have been rescued from oblivion, — in this 
age of books should have a literary form, which is 
part of their message, settled upon them. The Grimm 
tales await their literary master. 

III. THE FAIRY TALE AS A SHORT-STORY 

The fairy tale, then, which in an objective sense, 
from the standpoint of literature, has proved itself 
subject-matter of real worth, must be a classic, must 
have the qualities of mind and soul, must possess the 
power to appeal to the emotions, a power to appeal 
to the imagination, and it must have a basis of truth 
and a perfection of form. But in addition to pos- 
sessing these characteristics, because the fairy tale 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 71 

is a special literary form, — the short-story, — as litera- 
ture it must stand the test of the short-story. 

The three main characteristics of the short-story, 
as given by Professor Brander Matthews in his 
Philosophy of the Short-Story, are originality of theme, 
ingenuity of invention, and brevity, or compression. 
A single effect must be conceived, and no more writ- 
ten than contributes to that effect. The story de- 
pends for its power and charm on (1) characters; (2) 
plot; and (3) setting. In The Life and Letters of 
Robert Louis Stevenson, by Graham Balfour, Steven- 
son has said, concerning the short-story : — 

** There are, so far as I know, three ways, and three ways 
only, of writing a story. You may take a plot and fit charac- 
ters to it, or you may take a character and choose incidents 
and situations to develop it, or lastly — you must bear with 
me while I try to make this clear. . . . You may take a cer- 
tain atmosphere and get action and persons to express and 
realize it. I '11 give you an example — The Merry Men. There 
I began with the feeling of one of those islands on the west 
coast of Scotland, and I gradually developed the story to 
express the sentiment with which the coast affected me." 

According to the method by which the story was 
made, the emphasis will be on character, plot, or set- 
ting. Sometimes you may have a perfect blending 
of all three. 

(1) Characters. The characters must be unique 
and original, so that they catch the eye at once. They 
dare not be colorless, they must have striking experi- 
ences. The Elephant's Child, Henny Penny, Medio 
Pollito, Jack of the Beanstalk, the Three Pigs, the 



72 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

Three Bears, and Drakesbill — the characters of the 
fairy tales have no equal in literature for freshness 
and vivacity. The very mention of the thought brings 
a smile of recognition; and it is for this reason, no 
doubt, that leading men in large universities turn 
aside from their high scholarly labors, to work or 
play with fairy tales. Besides the interesting chief 
characters, moreover, there are many more subordi- 
nate characters that are especially unique: the fairies, 
the fairy godmothers and wise women, the elves of 
the trees, the dwarfs of the ground, the trolls of the 
rocks and hills, and the giants and witches. Then 
that great company of toilers in every occupation of 
life bring the child in touch with many novel phases 
of life. At best we are all limited by circumstances to 
a somewhat narrow sphere and like to enter into all 
that we are not. The child, meeting in his tale the 
shoemaker, the woodcutter, the soldier, the fisherman, 
the hunter, the poor traveler, the carpenter, the 
prince, the princess, and a host of others, gets a view 
of the industrial and social conditions that man in 
simple life had to face. This could not fail to interest; 
and it not only broadens his experience and deepens 
his sympathy, but is the best means for acquiring a 
foundation upon which to build his own vocational 
training. This acquisition is one contribution of litera- 
ture to industrial work. Those characters will appeal 
to the child which present what the child has noticed 
or can notice. They should appear as they do in life, 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 73 

by what they say and by what they do. This, in har- 
mony with the needs of the young child, makes the 
tales which answer to the test of suitability, largely 
dramatic. 

(2) Plot. The characters of the tales can be ob- 
served only in action. Plot is the synthesis of the ac- 
tions, all the incidents which happen to the charac- 
ters. The plot gives the picture of experience and 
allows us to see others through the events which come 
to them. According to Professor Bliss Perry, the plot 
should be entertaining, comical, novel, or thrilling. 
It should present images that are clear-cut and not of 
too great variety. It should easily separate itself into 
large, leading episodes that stand out distinctly. The 
sequence of events should be orderly and proceed 
without interruption. The general structure should 
easily be discerned into the beginning, the middle, and 
the end. Various writers of tales have their particu- 
lar ways of beginning. Andersen loses no time in 
getting started, while Kipling begins by stating his 
theme. The old tales frequently began with the words, 
" Once upon a time,'* which Kipling modified to "In 
the High and Far-Off times, O Best Beloved," etc. 
Hawthorne begins variously with " Once upon a 
time ", or, " Long, long ago "; or, " Did you ever 
hear of the golden apples? " etc. — Hawthorne has 
been omitted in this book because, so far as I can dis- 
cover, he furnishes no tale for the kindergarten or 
first grade. His simplest tale, Midas and the Golden 



74 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

Touchy properly belongs in the second grade when 
told; when read, in the fourth grade. — The intro- 
duction, in whatever form, should be simple and to 
the point. It should give the time and place and 
present the characters; and if good art it will be im- 
patient of much preliminary delay. The great stories 
all show a rise of interest culminating in one cen- 
tral climax; and after that, sometimes following on 
its very heels, the conclusion where poetic justice is 
meted out. This climax is a very important feature 
in the tale, so important that it has been said, " The 
climax is the tale." It is the point where interest fo- 
cuses. It makes the story because it is where the point 
of the story is made. In a good story this point al- 
ways is made impressive and often is made so by 
means of surprise. The conclusion must show that 
the tale has arrived at a stopping place and in a moral 
tale it must leave one satisfied, at rest. 

If the folk-tale is good narration, in answer to the 
question, " What.^ " it will tell what happened; in 
answer to the question, " Who? " it will tell to whom 
it happened; in answer to the question, " Where? *' 
it will tell the place where, and the time when, it hap- 
pened; and in answer to the question, *' Why? " it 
will give the reason for telling the story, it will give 
the message, and the truth embodied in its form. As 
narration the tale must have truth, interest, and con- 
sistency. Its typical mood must be action and its lan- 
guage the language of suggestion. This language of 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 75 

suggestion appears when it shows an object by indi- 
cating how it is hke something else; by teUing what 
we feel when we see the object; and by telling what 
actions of the person or object make it hateful or charm- 
ing. We learn to know Andersen's Snow Man through 
what the Dog says of him. 

Description, in the sense of a static, detailed de- 
lineation of various qualities of objects, has no place 
in the child's story, for it bores the child, who is very 
persistent in wanting the main theme uninterrupted. 
But description that has touches of movement and 
action or that lays emphasis on a single effect and has 
point, distinctly aids visualization, and produces a 
pleasing result, as we have seen in Kipling's Elephanfs 
Child. The young child of to-day, trained in nature 
study to look upon bird, tree, and flower with vital 
interest, to observe the color and the form of these, 
gains a love of the beautiful that makes him exclaim 
over the plumage of a bird or tint of a flower. To him 
beauty in the tale must make a direct appeal which 
the child unfamiliar with these things might not feel. 
The Wonderful Adventures of Nils makes an appeal 
to the modern child which could not possibly have 
been felt by the child living before 1850. The modern 
child brought up on phonics is sensitive to sound also, 
and open to an appreciation of the beauty of the indi- 
vidual word used in description. This description, 
when it occurs, should be characterized mainly by 
aptness and concreteness. 



76 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

Having observed the general characteristics of the 
narrative contained in the plot, let us examine the 
structure of a few tales to see: What is the main theme 
of the plot and how it works itself out; what are the 
large, leading episodes, and how they culminate in the 
climax; and what is the conclusion, and how closely 
it follows the climax. 

The Story of Three Pigs 

I. Introduction. Time. Place. Characters: Mother and 

Three Pigs. Mother gone. 
II. Rise. 

1. First Pig's venture with a man with a load of 

straw. 
Builds a straw house. (Wolf enters.) 
Wolf comes and destroys him. 

2. Second Pig's venture with a man with a load of 

furze. 
Builds a furze house. 
Wolf comes and destroys him. 

3. Third Pig's venture with a man with a load of 

bricks. 
Builds a brick house. 
Wolf comes. (Climax.) 
m. Conclusion. Third Pig outwits the Wolf. 

At the turnip-field in Mr. Smith's home-field. 
At the apple tree in Merry-Garden. 
At the fair at ShankHn. 
At his own brick house. 

Evidently the climax here is when the Wolf comes 
to the third Pig's brick house. After that things take 
a turn; and the final test of strength and cleverness 
comes at the very end of the tale, at Little Pig*s brick 
house. 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 77 

Grimm's Briar Rose is a model of structure and 
easily separates itself into ten large episodes. 

Briar Rose 

1. The Introduction. 

2. The Christening Feast. 

(a) The Fairies and their gifts. 

(6) The wicked Fairy and her curse. 

3. The King's decree. 

4. Princess Rose's birthday. 

(a) Princess Rose's visit to the old tower. 

(b) Princess Rose and the wicked Fairy spinning. 

(c) The magic sleep. 

5. The hedge of briars. 

6. The Prince and the old Man. 

7. The Prince and the opening hedge. 

8. The Prince in the castle. (Climax.) 

9. The awakening. 

10. The wedding. (Conclusion.) 

The climax here is the Prince's awakening kiss. The 
blossoming of the hedge into roses prepares for the climax; 
and the conclusion — the awakening of all the life of the 
castle and the wedding — follow immediately after. 

(3) Setting. The third element of the short-story 
that is essential to its power and charm is setting. The 
setting is the circumstances or events which surround 
the characters and action. The setting occupies a 
much more important place in the tale than we real- 
ize, for it is the source of a variety of sensations and 
feelings which it may arouse. It gives the poetic or 
artistic touch to a tale. In the old tale the setting is 
given often in a word or two which act like magic, to 
open to our eyes a whole vision of associations. The 



78 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

road in the Three Pigs, the wood in Red Riding Hood, 
the castle in the Sleeping Beauty — these add charm. 
Often the transformation in setting aids greatly in 
producing effect. In Cinderella the scene shifts from 
the hearth to the palace ballroom; in the Princess and 
the Peay from the comfortable castle of the Queen to 
the raging storm, and then back again to the castle, 
to the breakfast-room on the following morning. In 
Snow White and Rose Red the scene changes from the 
cheery, beautiful interior of the cottage, to the snow- 
storm from which the Bear emerged. In accumula- 
tive tales, such as The Old Woman and her Pig, Medio 
Pollito, and The Robin's Christmas Song, the sequence 
of the story itself is preserved mainly by the change 
of setting. This appears in the following outline of 
The Robin's Christmas Song, an English tale which is 
the same as the Scotch Robin's Yule-Song, which has 
been attributed to Robert Burns. This tale illus- 
trates one main line of sequence : — 

The Robin's Christmas Song 

1. Introduction. A sunny morning. Waterside. A Gray 

Pussy. A Robin came along. 

2. Rise. 

Pussy said, "See my white fur.*' 

Robin replied, "You ate the wee mousie.** 

Change in setting. Stone wall on border of the wood. A 
greedy Hawk, sitting. 

Hawk said, "See the speckled feather in 

my wing." 

Robin replied "You pecked the sparrow," 

etc. 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 79 

Change in setting. Great rock. A sly Fox. 

Fox said, "See the spot on my tail." 

Robin replied, "You bit the wee lambie.*' 

Change in setting. Banks of a rivulet. A small Boy. 

Boy said, "See the crumbs in my 

pocket." 

Robin replied, "You caught the goldfinch." 

Change in setting. King's palace. The window sill. 
The King at the window. 

Robin sang, "A song for the King." 

King replied "What shall we give Robin?** 

3. Conclusion. 

No change in setting. King's palace. The window sill. 
The King at the window. 

King Filled a plate and set it on 

the window sill. 

Robin Ate, sang a song again, and 

flew away. 

Here, not only the sequence of the tale is held largely 
by the change in setting, but also the pleasure in the 
tale is due largely to the setting, the pictures of land- 
scape beauty it presents, and the feelings arising from 
these images. 

A Japanese tale, in which the setting is a large part 
of the tale, and a large element of beauty, is Mezumi, 
the Beautiful, or The Rat Princess. 

A Grimm tale in which the setting is a very large 
element of pleasure and in which it preserves the se- 
quence of the tale, is The Spider and the Flea, a lively 
accumulative tale that deserves attention for several 
reasons. — A Spider and a Flea dwelt together. One 
day a number of unusual occurrences happened, so 
that finally a little Girl with a water-pitcher broke it. 



80 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

and then the Streamlet from which she drew the water 
asked, " Why do you break your pitcher, Httle Girl? " 
And she repHed: — 

The little Spider 's burned herself. 

And the Flea weeps; 

The little Door creaks with the pain. 

And the Broom sweeps; 

The little Cart runs on so fast. 

And the Ashes burn; 

The little Tree shakes down its leaves. 

Now it is my turn! 

And then the Streamlet said, " Now I must flow." 
And it flowed on and on, getting bigger and bigger, 
until it swallowed up the little Girl, the little Tree, 
the Ashes, the Cart, the Broom, the Door, the Flea, 
and at last, the Spider — all together. 

Here we have a tale, which, in its language, well 
illustrates Stevenson's " pattern of style," especially 
as regards the harmony produced by the arrangement 
of letters. From the standpoint of style, this tale 
might be named, The Adventure of the Letter E; it illus- 
trates the part the phonics of the tale may contribute 
to the effect of the setting. Follow the letter e in the 
opening of the tale, both as to the eye and the ear : — 

A Spider and a Flea dwelt together in one house and brewed 
their beer in an egg-shell. One day when the Spider was stir- 
ring it up she fell in and burned herself. Thereupon the 
Flea began to scream. And then the Door asked, "Why are 
you screaming, little Flea?" 

If we follow the e sound through the tale, we find it 
in Fleay beer, scream, creak, weeps, sweep, reason, heap. 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 81 

Tree, leaves, and Streamlet. This repetition of the one 
sound puts music into the tale and creates a center of 
the harmony of sound. But if we examine the next 
part of the tale we find a variety of sounds of o in 
thereupon. Door, Broom, stood, and comer. Later, in 
connection with Cart, we have began, fast, past, and 
Ashes. Other phonic effects are crowded into the tale; 
such as the sound of I in violently, till, all, leaves, and 
fell; the sound of i in little and Girl; of p in pitcher and 
passing; of t in little and pitcher; and of ew in threw 
and drew. Altogether this very effective use of sound is 
a fine employment of concrete language, words which 
present images that are clear-cut as a cameo. It also 
gives to the tale a poetical touch. 

Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse, an English tale, and a 
parallel of The Spider and the Flea, preserves the same 
beauty and sequence by means of its setting and il- 
lustrates the same very unusual contribution of the 
sounds of particular letters combined in the harmony 
of the whole. The Phonics of the Fairy Tales is a sub- 
ject which yields much interest and, as yet, has been 
almost untouched. 

In The Adventures of Chanticleer and Partlet, in 
part I, The Trip to the Nut- Hill, taken from Arthur 
Rackham's Grimm Tales, the setting contributes 
largely to the attractiveness of the tale, as is shown in 
Rackham's beautiful illustration. The setting is given 
throughout the tale often in a telling word or two. 
Chanticleer and Partlet went up the nut-hill to gather 



82 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

nuts before the squirrel carried them all away. The 
day was bright and they stayed till evening. The car- 
riage of nut-shells; the Duck they met; the dirty road 
they traveled in the pitch dark; the Inn they arrived 
at; the night at the Inn; the early dawn; the hearth 
where they threw the egg-shells; the Landlord's chair 
whose cushion received the Needle; the towel which 
received the Pin; the heath over which they hurried 
away; the yard of the Inn where the Duck slept and 
the stream he escaped by; the Landlord's room where 
he gained experience with his towel; the kitchen where 
the egg-shells from the hearth flew into his face; and 
the arm-chair which received him with a Needle — 
these are all elements of setting which contribute 
largely to the humor and the beauty of the tale. 

A blending of the three elements, characters, plot, 
and setting, appears in the following outline of The 
Elves and the Shoemaker: — 

The Elves and the Shoemaker 

1. Introduction. A poor Shoemaker. A poor room contain- 

ing a bed and a shoemaker's board. Leather for one 
pair of shoes. 

2. Development. 

First night Cut out shoes. Went to bed. Shoes 

ready next morning. Sold them. Bought leather 
for two pairs. 

Second night Cut out shoes. Went to bed. Shoes 

ready next morning. Sold them. Bought leather 
for four pairs. 

One night Conversation of Shoemaker and his 

wife: "I should like to sit up to-night to see who it 
is that makes the shoes." They sat up. Two Elves 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 83 

ran in, sewed, rapped, and tapped, and ran away 
when the shoes were made. 

Day after Conversation. ** These Elves made us 

rich. I should like to do something for them. You 
make each of them a little pair of shoes, and I will 
make them each a little shirt, a coat, a waistcoat, 
trousers, and a pair of stockings." 

Christmas Eve . . Finished shoes and clothes put on 
the table. Shoemaker and Wife hid in the corner of 
the room behind clothes, and watched. (Climax.) 

Elves came in and put on clothes. 
3. Conclusion, 

Happy end. Elves danced and sang, — 

" Smart and natty boys are we, 
Cobblers we'll no longer be." 

Shoemaker and Wife became happy and prosperous. 

The characters of this tale are usual, a poor Shoe- 
maker and his Wife; and unusual, the dainty Elves 
who made shoes in a twinkling. But the commonplace 
peasants become interesting through their generosity, 
kindness, and service to the Elves; and the Elves be- 
come human in their joy at receiving gifts. The struc- 
ture of the tale is so distinct as to be seen a thing itself, 
apart from the story. The framework is built on what 
happens on two nights and following nights, the con- 
versation of the next day, and what happens on Christ- 
mas Eve. The climax evidently is what the Shoe- 
maker and his Wife hid in the corner to see — the en- 
trance of the Elves on Christmas Eve — which episode 
has been interpreted charmingly by the English illus- 
trator, Cruikshank. The joy of the Elves and of the 
two aged people, the gifts received by the one and the 



84 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

riches won by the other, form the conclusion, which 
follows very closely upon the cHmax. The common- 
place setting, the poor room with its simple bed and 
table, becomes transformed by the unusual happen- 
ings in the place. If we should take away this setting, 
we see how much the tale would suffer. Also without 
the characters the tale would be empty. And without 
the interesting, human, humorous, and pleasing plot, 
characters and setting would be insufficient. Each 
element of the short-story contributes its fair share to 
the tale, and blends harmoniously in the whole. 

Various standards for testing the folk-tale have 
been given by writers. One might refer to the stand- 
ards given by Wilman in his Pedagogische Vortrdge and 
those mentioned by William Rein in Das Erste Schul- 
jahr. We have seen here that the fairy tale must con- 
tain the child's interests and it must be able to stand 
the test of a true classic. It must stand the test of lit- 
erature in its appeal to emotion and to imagination, in 
its appeal to the intellect through its basis of truth, 
and to the language-sense through its perfection of 
form; it must stand the test of the short-story and of 
good narration and of description. Let us now examine 
a few of the old tales to see how they stand the com- 
plete test: — 

How the Sun, Moon, and West Wind went out to Dinner 

This story of How the Sun, Moon, and West Wind Went 
out to Dinner appeals to the children's interest in a family 
dinner — they went to dine with their Uncle and Aunt, 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 85 

Thunder and Lightning. The characters are interesting 
to the child, for they are the inhabitants of his sky that 
cause him much wonder: the star, the sun, the moon, the 
thunder, and the lightning. To the little child, who as she 
watched a grown-up drying her hands, remarked, **I 
would n't like to be a towel, would you?" the idea of the 
moon, sun, and wind possessing personality and going to a 
dinner-party will amuse and please. The theme of the story 
finds a place in the experience of children who go to a party; 
and secretly they will enjoy making comparisons. When 
they go to a party they too like to bring something home; 
but they would n't think of hiding goodies in their hands. 
They are fortunate enough to have their hostess give them 
a toy animal or a box of sweetmeats, a tiny dolly or a gay 
balloon, as a souvenir. The greediness and selfishness of the 
Sun and Wind impress little children, for these are perhaps 
the two sins possible to childhood; and all children will fully 
appreciate why the Sun and the Wind received so swiftly the 
punishment they deserved. The thoughtf ulness of the loving 
gentle Moon to remember her Mother the Star, appeals to 
them. The rapid punishment, well-deserved, and the simplic- 
ity of the story with its one point, make it a very good tale 
for little children. The whole effect is pleasing. What child- 
ren recall is the motherly Star; and the beautiful Moon, 
who was cool and calm and bright as a reward for being 
good. 

The structure of the tale is neat and orderly, dominated 
by a single theme. The form of the tale, as given in Jacobs's 
Indian Tales, shows a good use of telling expressions; such 
as, "the Mother waited alone for her children's return," 
**Kept watch with her little bright eye,'* "the Moon, shaking 
her hands showered down such a choice dinner," etc. Here we 
have too, the use of concrete, visualized expressions and di- 
rect language. There is also a good use of repetition, which 
aids the child in following the plot and which clarifies the 
meaning. The Mother Star, when pronouncing a punishment 
upon Sun, repeated his own words as he had spoken when 
returning from the dinner: "I went out to enjoy myself with 
my friends." In her speech to Wind she included his own 



86 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

remark: "I merely went for my own pleasure." — The ex- 
amination of this tale shows that it stands well the complete 
test applied here to the fairy tale. 

The Straw Ox 

The Straw Ox is an accumulative tale which has sufficient 
plot to illustrate the fine points of the old tale completely. 
A poor woman who could barely earn a living had an idea 
and carried it out successfully. — Her need immediately wins 
sympathy in her behalf. — She asked her husband to make 
her a straw ox and smear it with tar. Then placing it in the 
field where she spun, she called out, "Graze away, little Ox, 
graze away, while I spin my flax! " First a Bear came out of 
the Wood and got caught by the tar so that the Straw Ox 
dragged him home. The old Man then put the Bear in the 
cellar. Then a Wolf, a Fox, and a Hare got caught in the 
same way and also were consigned to the cellar, — The plot 
has so far built itself up by an orderly succession of incidents. 
— But just when the Man is preparing to kill the animals, 
they save their lives by promising vicarious offerings: The 
Bear promises honey; the Wolf a flock of sheep; the Fox a 
flock of geese; and the Hare kale and cauliflower. — Then 
the plot, having tied itself into a knot, unties itself as the ani- 
mals return, each with the gift he promised. 

The setting is the field where the old Woman placed the 
Ox and where she spun, the wood from which the animals 
came, and the peasant home. The characters are two poor 
people who need food and clothing and seek to secure both; 
and the animals of the forest. The peasants need the Bear for 
a coat, the Wolf for a fur cap, the Fox for a fur collar, and the 
Hare for mittens. This human need produces an emotional 
appeal so that we wish to see the animals caught. But when 
the plot unties itself, the plight of the animals appeals to us 
equally and we want just as much to see them win their free- 
dom. Each animal works out his own salvation by offering 
the old people a worthy substitute. Each animal is true to 
his nature in the substitute he offers, he promises what is 
only natural for him to procure, and what he himself likeS 
best. The conclusion is satisfying because in the end every- 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 87 

body is happy: the old people who have all they need; and 
the animals who have life and freedom. The distinct pic- 
tures offered to the imagination are the capture of the four 
animals and their return with their life-substitutes. The 
form of the tale is a good example of folk-story style, with 
its vivid words, direct language, and repetition. This is one 
of the tales which is finer than at first appears because it 
has a strong sense of life. It touches the present-day prob- 
lem: "How can the inhuman slaughter of animals for man's 
use be avoided?" Its underlying message is: Self-help is a 
good way out of a difficulty. — The Straw Ox also answers 
the complete test of the tale with much satisfaction. 



REFERENCES 

The Child 

Barnes, Earl: Study of Children's Stories. ("Children's 

Interests.") 
Dewey, John: Interest and Effort in Education. Houghton. 
King, Irving : Psychology of Child Development. University 

of Chicago Press. 
Lawrence, Isabel: "Children's Interests in Literatiu-e." 

N. E. A. RepoH, 1899, p. 1044. 
McCracken, Elizabeth: "What Children Like to Read." 

Outlook, Dec, 1904, vol. 78. 
Tyler, John M. : Growth in Education. Houghton. 
Vostrovsky, Clara: "A Study of Children's Own Stories." 

Studies in Education, vol. i, pp. 15-17. 

Literature 

Baldwin, Charles S.: Specimens of Prose Description. 
Holt. 

Brewster, William T. : English Composition and Style. Cen- 
tury. 

Ibid: Specimens of Prose Narration. Holt. 

Gardiner, John H. : Forms of Prose Literature. Scribner. 

Matthews, Brander: The Philosophy of the Short-Story, 
Longmans. 



88 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

Pater, Walter: Appreciations. (Essay on Style). Mac- 

millan. 
Perry, Bliss: A Study of Prose Fiction. ("The Short 

Story.") Houghton. 
Sainte-Beuve, Charles A. : Essays. (** What is a Classic? *') 

Dutton. 
Santayana, George: The Sense of Beauty. Scribner. 
Wendell, Barrett: English Composition. Scribner. 
Winchester, Caleb T.: Principles of Literary Criticism. 

Macmillan. 

Emotion 

Bain, Alexander: The Emotions and the Will. Appleton. 
Darwin, Charles R. : Expression of the Emotions in Man 
and Animals. Appleton. 

Imagination 

Colvin, Stephen: The Learning Process. Macmillan. 

Curry, S. S. : Imagination and the Dramatic Instinct. Ex- 
pression Co. 

Ruskin, John : Modern Painters, vol. i. (" Of the Imagma- 
tion.") 

Children's Literature 

Baker, Franklm T.: Bibliography of Children* s Reading. 
(Introduction.) Teachers College, Columbia Univer- 
sity. 

Day, Mary B., and Wilson, Elisabeth: Suggestive Outlines 
on Children's Literature. S. Illinois Normal, Carbondale. 

Dodd, C. F.: "Fairy Tales in the Schoolroom." Living 
Age, Nov. 8, 1902, vol. 235, pp. 369-75. 

Fay, Lucy, and Eaton, Anne: Instruction in the Use of 
Books and Libraries. (Chap, xv, *' Fairy Tales.") Bos- 
ton Book Co. 

Field, Mrs. E. M. : The Child and His Book. Wells Gard- 
ner, Darton & Co. 

Field, Walter T.: Finger-Posts to Children's Reading. 
A. C. McClurg. 

Harron, Julia; Bacon, Corinne; and Dana, Z.C.'.A Course 



PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION 89 

o^ Study on Literature for Children. Newark Public 

Library. 
Hosic, James F. : "The Conduct of a Course in Literature 

for Children." N. E. A. Repad, 1913. 

Ibid: The Elementary Course in English. University 
of Chicago. 
Hunt, Clara: What shall we Read to the Children? Hough- 
ton. 
Kready, Laura F.: **Picture-Books for Little Children." 

Kindergarten Review, Sept., 1914. 
Lowe, Orton: Literature for Children. Macmillan. 
MacClintock, Porter L.: Literature in the Elementary 

School. University of Chicago. 
Moore, Annie E.: "Principles in the Selection of Stories 

for the Kindergarten." /. K. U. Repcyrt, 1913. 
Moses, Montrose: Children* s Books and Reading. M. Ken- 

nerley. 
Olcott, Frances J. : The Children's Reading, Houghton. 



CHAPTER III 

THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 

The telling of stories refreshes the mind as a bath refreshes the 
body. It gives exercise to the intellect and its powers. It tests the 
judgments and feelings. The story-teller must wholly take into him- 
self the life of which he speaks, must let it live and operate in himself 
freely. He must reproduce it whole and undiminished, yet stand 
superior to life as it actually is. — Froebel. 

The purpose of the story. — To look out with new eyes upon the 
many-featured, habitable world; to be thrilled by the pity and the 
beauty of this life of ours, itself brief as a tale that is told; to learn 
to know men and women better, and to love them more. — Bliss 
Perry. 

Expertness in teaching consists in a scholarly command of sub- 
ject-matter, in a better organization of character, in a larger and 
more versatile command of conscious modes of transmitting facts 
and ideals, and in a more potent and winsome, forceful and sym- 
pathetic manner of personal contact with other human beings. — 
Henry Suzzallo. 

Story-telling as an art. No matter how perfectly 
the tale, in a subjective sense, may contain the inter- 
ests of the child, or how carefully it may avoid what 
repels him; though in an objective sense it may 
stand the test of a true classic in offering a permanent 
enrichment of the mind and the test of literature in 
appealing to the emotions and the imagination, in giv- 
ing a contribution of truth and an embodiment of good 
form; though it may stand the test of the short-story 
— furnishing interesting characters, definite plot, and 
effective setting; though its sequence be orderly and 



THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 91 

its climax pointed, its narration consistent and its de- 
scription apt — the tale yet remains to be told. The 
telling of the tale is a distinct art governed by distinct 
principles because the life of the story must be trans- 
mitted and rendered into voice. 

Story-telling is one of the most ancient and univer- 
sal of arts. Concerning this art Thackeray has said : — 

Stories exist everywhere: there is no calculating the dis- 
tance through which stories have come to us, the number of 
languages through which they have been filtered, or the cen- 
turies during which they have been told. Many of them have 
been narrated almost in their present shape for thousands of 
years to the little copper-colored Sanskrit children, listening 
to their mothers under the palm-trees by the banks of the 
yellow Jumna — their Brahmin mother, who softly narrated 
them through the ring in her nose. The very same tale has 
been heard by the northern Vikings as they lay on their 
shields on deck; and the Arabs couched under the stars on 
the Syrian plains when their flocks were gathered in, and 
their mares were picketed by the tents. 

In his Roundabout Papers, Thackeray gives a pic- 
ture of a score of white-bearded, white-robed warriors 
or grave seniors of the city, seated at the gate of Jaffa 
or Bey rout, listening to the story-teller reciting his 
marvels out of Arabian Nights. "A Reading from 
Homer," by Alma Tadema, is a well-known picture 
which portrays the Greeks listening to the Tales of 
Homer. In the Lysistrata of Aristophanes, the chorus 
of old men begins with, " I will tell ye a story! " Plu- 
tarch, in his Theseus says, " All kinds of stories were 
told at the festival Oschophoria, as the mothers related 



92 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

such things to their children before their departure, to 
give them courage." In his Symposium he mentions 
a child's story containing the proverb, " No man can 
make a gown for the moon." — 

The Moon begged her Mother to weave her a little frock 
which would fit her. 

The Mother said, "How can I make it fit thee, when thou 
art sometimes a Full Moon, and then a Half Moon, and then 
a New Moon.? " — 

In the works of the German, Schuppius (1677), ap- 
peared this : — 

Your old folks can remember how, in the olden times, it 
was customary at vespers on Easter day, to tell some Easter 
tidings from the pulpit. These were foolish fables and stories 
such as are told to children in the spinning-room. They 
were intended to make people merry. 

In England, Chaucer's Tales reflect the common 

custom of the times for the pilgrim, the traveler, the 

lawyer, the doctor, the monk, and the nun, to relate a 

tale. The Wife of Bathes Tale is evidently a fairy tale. 

In Peele's Old Wives* Tale we learn how the smith's 

goodwife related some nursery tales of Old England to 

the two travelers her husband brought to the cottage 

for the night. In Akenside's Pleasures of Imagination 

we find : — 

Hence, finally by night. 
The village matres, round the blazing hearth 
Suspend the infant audience with their tales, 
Breathing astonishment. 

The custom of Florentine mothers has been described 
by the poet, Dante, when he says: — 



THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 93 

Another, drawing tresses from her distaff, 
Told o'er among her family the tales 
Of Trojans, and of Fesole and Rome. 

The French troubadours and the Italian counts of 
Boccaccio's time told tales. It is recorded of the 
French Galland, the first translator of The Arabian 
NightSy how the young men of his day would gather 
under his windows at night and shout for him until he 
showed himself and told them stories. The German 
Luther paid a high tribute to stories; and Goethe's 
mother, in giving her experience in telling stories to 
her children, has shown how the German mother val- 
ued the story in the home. To-day, savage children, 
when the day of toil is ended with the setting sun, 
gather in groups to listen to the never-dying charm of 
the tale; and the most learned of men, meeting in the 
great centers of civilization to work out weighty prob- 
lems, find relief and pleasure when wit and culture tell 
the tale. 

In the home the tale is the mother's power to build 
in her little children ideals of life which will tower as a 
fortress when there come critical moments of decision 
for which no amount of reasoning will be a sufficient 
guide, but for which true feeling, a kind of unconscious 
higher reasoning, will be the safest guide. In the li- 
brary the story is the greatest social asset of the libra- 
rian, it is her best means of reaching the obscure child 
who seeks there some food for his spirit, it is her best 
opportunity to lead and direct his tastes. In the school 



94 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

it is the teacher's strongest personal ally. It is her 
wishing-ring, with which she may play fairy to herself 
in accomplishing a great variety of aims, and inciden- 
tally be a fairy godmother to the child. 

Story-telling is an art handling an art and therefore 
must be pursued in accordance with certain princi- 
ples. These principles govern: (1) the teacher's prep- 
aration; (2) the presentation of the tale; and (3) the 
return from the child. 

I. THE teacher's PREPARATION 

1. The teacher's preparation must be concerned 
with a variety of subjects. The first rule to be ob- 
served is: Select the tale for some purpose, to meet a situa- 
tion. This purpose may be any one of the elements of 
value which have been presented here under " The 
Worth of Fairy Tales." The teacher must consider, 
not only the possibilities of her subject-matter and 
what she wishes to accomplish through the telling of 
the tale, but also what the child's purpose will be in 
listening. She may select her tale specifically, not 
just because it contains certain interests, but because 
through those interests she can direct the child's ac- 
tivity toward higher interests. She must consider 
what problems the tale can suggest to the child. She 
may select her tale to develop habits in the child, to 
clarify his thinking, to give a habit of memory or to 
develop emotion or imagination. She may select her 
tale ** just for fun," to give pure joy, or to teach a 



THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 95 

definite moral lesson, to make a selfish child see the 
beauty of unselfishness or to impress an idea. The 
Story of Lazy Jacky like the realistic EpaminondaSy 
will impress more deeply than any word of exhorta- 
tion, the necessity for a little child to use " the sense 
he was born with." 

In the selection of the tale the teacher is up against 
the problem of whether she shall choose her tale psy- 
chologically or logically. As this is the day of the 
psychologic point of view in education, the teacher 
realizing this feels that she must select a tale for a 
particular purpose, according to the child's interests, 
his needs, and the possibilities it offers for his self- 
activity and self-expression. Looking freely over the 
field she may choose any tale which satisfies her pur- 
poses. This is psychologic. But in a year's work this 
choice of a tale for a particular purpose is followed by 
successive choices until she has selected a wide vari- 
ety of tales giving exercise to many forms of activity, 
establishing various habits of growth. This method of 
choice is the psychologic built up until, in the hands of 
the teacher who knows the subject, it becomes some- 
what logical. It is the method which uses the ability 
of the individual teacher, alone and unaided. There is 
another method. The teacher may be furnished with a 
course of tales arranged by expert study of the full sub- 
ject outlined in large units of a year's work, offering 
the literary heritage possible to the child of a given 
age. This is logical. From this logical course of tales 



96 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

she may select one which answers to the momentary 
need, she may use it according to its nature, to develop 
habits, to give opportunity for self-activity and self- 
expression, and to enter into the child's daily life. 
This method of choice is the logical, which through 
use and adaptation has become psychologized. It uses 
the ability of the individual teacher in adaptation, not 
unaided and alone, but assisted by the concentrated 
knowledge and practice of the expert. Such a logical 
course, seeking uniformity only by what it requires at 
the close of a year's work, would give to the individual 
teacher a large freedom of choice and would bring into 
kindergarten and elementary literature a basis of con- 
tent demanding as much respect as high school or 
college literature. It is in no way opposed to maintain- 
ing the child as the center of interest. The teacher's 
problem is to see that she uses the logical course 
psychologically. 

2. Having selected the tale then, from a logical 
course, and psychologically for a present particular 
purpose, the next step is: Know the tale. Know the 
tale historically, if possible. Know it first as folk-lore 
and then as literature. Read several versions of the 
tale, the original if possible, selecting that version 
which seems most perfectly fitted to express what 
there is in the tale. As folk-lore, study its variants and 
note its individual motifs. Note what glimpses it gives 
of the social life and customs of a primitive people. 
The best way to dwell on the Uf e of the story, to realize 



THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 97 

it, is to compare these motifs with similar motifs in 
other tales. It has been said that we do not see any- 
thing clearly until we compare it with another; and 
associating individual motifs of the tales makes the 
incidents stand out most clearly. Henny Penny's walk 
appears more distinctly in association with that of 
Medio Pollito or that of Drakesbill or of the Foolish 
Timid Rabbit; the fairy words in Sleeping Beauty and 
the good things they bestowed upon Briar Rose in as- 
sociation with the fairy wand in Cinderella and the 
good things it brought her; the visit of the Wolf in 
The Wolf and Seven Kids with the visit of the Wolf in 
Three Pigs and of the Fox in The Little Rid Bin. It 
is interesting to note that a clog motif, similar to the 
motif of shoes in The Elves and the Shoemaker, occurs 
in the Hindu Panch-Rhul Ranee, told in Old Deccan 
Days. 

All the common motifs which occur in the fairy 
tales have been classified by Andrew Lang under these 
heads : — 

(1) Bride or bridegroom who transgresses a mystic com- 

mand. 

(2) Penelope formula; one leaves the other and returns 

later. 

(3) Attempt to avoid Fate. 

(4) Slaughter of monster. 

(5) Flight, by aid of animal. 

(6) Flight from giant or wizard. 

(7) Success of youngest. 

(8) Marriage test, to perform tasks. 

(9) Grateful beasts. 



98 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

(10) Strong man and his comrades. 

(11) Adventure with Ogre, and trick. 

(12) Descent to Hades. 

(13) False bride. 

(14) Bride with animal children. 

From a less scientific view some of the common 
motifs noticeable in the fairy tales, which however 
would generally fall under one of the heads given by 
Lang, might be listed : — 

(1) Child wandering into a home; as in Three Bears and 

Snow White. 

(2) Transformation; simple, as in Puss-in-Boots; by love, 

as in Beauty and the Beast, by sprinkling with 
water, as in Beauty and the Beast or by bathing, as 
in Catskin; by violence, as in Frog Prince and 
White Cat. 

(3) Tasks as marriage tests; as in Cinderella. 

(4) Riddle test; as in Peter, Paul, and Espen; questions 

asked, as in Red Riding Hood. 

(5) Magic sleep; as in Sleeping Beauty. 

(6) Magic touch; as in Golden Goose. 

(7) Stupid person causing royalty to laugh; as in Lazy 

Jack. 

(8) Exchange; as in Jack and the Beanstalk. 

(9) Curiosity punished; as in Bluebeard and Three Bears. 

(10) Kindness to persons rewarded; as in Cinderella, Little 

Two-Eyes, and The House in the Wood. 

(11) Kindness to animals repaid; as in Thumbelina, CiU' 

derella, and White Cat. 

(12) Industry rewarded; as in Elves and the Shoemaker. 

(13) Hospitality rewarded; as in Tom Thumb. 

(14) Success of a venture; as in Dick Whittington. 

After studying the tale as folk-lore, know it as litera- 
ture. Master it as a classic, test it as literature, to see 
wherein lies its appeal to the emotions, its power of 



THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 99 

imagination, its basis of truth", and its quality of form; 
study it as a short-story and view it as a piece of narra- 
tion. It is rather interesting to note that you can get 
all there is in a tale from any one point of view. If you 
follow the sequence as setting, through association you 
get the whole, as may be seen by referring to Chanti- 
cleer and Partlet under the heading, " Setting," in the 
chapter on the " Short-Story." Or, if you follow the 
successive doings of the characters you get the whole, 
as may be observed in the story of Medio Pollito, de- 
scribed later in the "Animal Tale" in the chapter, 
" Classes of Tales." Or if you follow the successive 
happenings to the characters, the plot, you get the 
whole, as may appear in the outline of Three Pigs 
given in the chapter which handles '* Plot." Note the 
beauty of detail and the quality of atmosphere with 
which the setting surrounds the tale; note the individ- 
ual traits of the characters and their contrasts; ob- 
serve how what each one does causes what happens 
to him. Realize your story from the three points of 
view to enter into the author's fullness. Get a good 
general notion of the story first. 

3. The next step is: Master the complete structure of 
the tale. This is the most important step in the particu- 
lar study of the tale, for it is the unity about which any 
perfection in the art of telling must center. To discern 
that repose of centrality which the main theme of the 
tale gives, to follow it to its climax and to its conclu- 
sion, where poetic justice leaves the listener satisfied — 



100 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

this is the most fundamental work of the story-teller. 
The teacher must analyze the structure of her tale 
into its leading episodes, as has been illustrated in the 
handling of structure, under the subject, " Plot," in 
the chapter on the " Short-Story." 

4. The next step is: Secure the message of the tale. 
The message is what we wish to transmit, it is the ex- 
pHcit reason for telling the tale. And one evidently 
must possess a message before one can give it. As the 
message is the chief worth of the tale, the message 
should dominate the telling and pervade its life. A 
complete realization of the message of the tale will 
affect the minutest details giving color and tone to the 
telling, and resulting so that what the child does with 
the story will deepen the impression of the message he 
receives. 

5. The next step is: Master the tale as form. This 
means that if the tale is in classic form, not only the 
message and the structure must be transmitted, but 
the actual words. Words are the artist's medium, 
Stevenson includes them in his pattern of style, and 
how can we exclude them if we wish to express what 
they have expressed? A tale like Kipling's The Ele- 
phant's Child would be ruined without those clinging 
epithets, such as " the wait-a-bit thorn-bush," "mere- 
smear nose," "slushy squshy mud-cap," "Bi-Col- 
ored-Python-Rock-Snake," and "'satiable curtiosity." 
No one could substitute other words in this tale; for 
contrasts of feeling and humor are so tied up with the 



THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 101 

words that other words would fail to tell the real story. 
If an interjection has seemed an insignificant part of 
speech, note the vision of tropical setting opened up by 
the exclamation, " O Bananas! Where did you learn 
that trick? " This is indeed a tale where the form is 
the matter, the form and the message are one complete 
whole that cannot be separated. But it is a proof that 
where any form is of sufficient perfection to be a classic 
form, you may give a modified tale by changing it, 
but you do not give the real complete tale. You can- 
not tell Andersen's Tin Soldier in your own words; for 
its sentences, its phrases, its sounds, its suggestive lan- 
guage, its humor, its imagination, its emotion, and its 
message, are so intricately woven together that you 
could not duplicate them. 

When the fairy tale does not possess a settled classic 
form, select, as was mentioned, that version in which 
the language best conveys the life of the story, im- 
proving it yourself, if you can, in harmony with the 
standards of literature, until the day in the future 
when the tale may be fortunate enough to receive a 
settled form at the hands of a literary artist. Some- 
times a slight change may improve greatly an old tale. 
In Grimm's Briar Rose ^ the episode of the Prince and 
the old Man contains irrelevant material. The two 
paragraphs following, " after the lapse of many years 
there came a king's son into the country," easily may 
be re-written to preserve the same unity and simplicity 
* McLoughlin edition. 



102 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

which mark the rest of the tale. This individual re- 
telling of an old tale demands a careful distinction be- 
tween what is essential and internal and what may 
have been added, what is accidental and external. 
The clock-case in The Wolf and Seven Kids evidently 
is not a part of the original story, which arose before 
clocks were in use, and is a feature added in some Ger- 
man telling of the tale. It may be retained but it is not 
essential to the tale that it should be. Exact conversa- 
tions and bits of dialogue, repetitive phrases, rhymes, 
concrete words which visualize, brief expressions, and 
Anglo-Saxon words — these are all bits of detail which 
need to be mastered in a complete acquirement of the 
story's form, because these are characteristics of the 
form which time has settled upon the old tales. Any 
literary form bestowed upon the tales worthy of the 
name literature, will have to preserve these essentials. 

II. THE PRESENTATION OF THE TALE 
In the oral presentation of the tale new elements of 
the teacher's preparation enter, for here the voice is 
the medium and the teacher must use the voice as the 
organist his keys. The aim of the oral presentation is 
to give the spiritual effect. This requires certain con- 
ditions of effectiveness — to speak with distinctness, 
to give the sense, and to cause to understand; and 
certain intellectual requirements — to articulate with 
perfection, to present successive thoughts in clear out- 
line, and to preserve relative values of importance. 



THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 103 

The production of the proper effect necessitates plac- 
ing in the foreground, with full expression, what needs 
emphasis, and throwing back with monotony or accel- 
eration parts that do not need emphasis. It requires 
slighting subordinate, unimportant parts, so that one 
point- is made and one total impression given. This 
results in that flexibility and lightsomeness of the 
voice, which is one of the most important features in 
the telling of the tale. The study of technique, when 
controlled by these principles of vocal expression, is 
not opposed to the art of story-telling any more than 
the painter's knowledge of color is opposed to his 
art of painting. To obtain complete control of the 
voice as an instrument of the mind, there is necessary : 
(1) training of the voice; (2) exercises in breathing; 
(3) a knowledge of gesture; and (4) a power of person- 
ality. 

(1) Training of the voice. This training aims to se- 
cure freedom of tone, purity of tone, fullness of tone, 
variety of volume, and tone-color. It will include a 
study of phonetics to give correct pronunciation of 
sounds and a knowledge of their formation; freeing 
exercises to produce a jaw which is not set, an open 
throat, a mobile lip, and nimble tongue; and exercises 
to get rid of nasality or throatiness. The art of articu- 
lation adds to the richness of meaning, it is the con- 
nection between sound and sense. Open sounds are in 
harmony with joy, and very distinct emotional effects 
are produced by arrangements of consonants. The 



104 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

effect created by the use of the vowels and consonants 
in The Spider and the Flea has already been referred 
to under " Setting." The open vowels of " On, little 
Drumikin! Tum-pa, turn-too/" help to convey the 
impression of lightsome gaiety in Lambikin. The ef- 
fect of power displayed by " Then I *11 huff and I '11 
puff, and I '11 blow your house in," is made largely by 
the sound of the consonants ff and the n in the con- 
cluding in, the force of the rough u of huff and puff, 
and the prolonged o in blow. The effect of walking is 
produced by the p of " Trip, trap,'^ and of varied 
walking by the change of vowel from i to a. The action 
of " I have come to gobble you up," is emphasized and 
made realistic by the bb of gobble and the p of up. At- 
tention to the power of phonics to contribute to the 
emotional force and to the strength of meaning in 
the tale, will reveal to the story-teller many new 
beauties. 

(2) Exercises in breathing. Training in breathing 
includes exercises to secure the regulation of proper 
breathing during speech and to point out the relation 
between breathing and voice expression. The correct 
use of the voice includes also ability to place tone. — 
Find out your natural tone and tell the story in that 
tone. — Many of the effects of the voice need to be 
dealt with from the inside, not externally. The use of 
the pause in story-telling is one of the subtlest and 
most important elements that contribute to the final 
effect. The proper placing of the pause will follow un- 



THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 105 

consciously as a consequence when the structure of the 
story is realized in distinct episodes and the proper 
emphasis given mentally to the most important details 
of action, while less emphasis in thought is given to 
subordinate parts. Therefore, the study of the pause 
must be made, not artificially and externally, but in- 
ternally through the elements of the story which pro- 
duce the pause. Tone-color, which is to ordinary 
speech what melody is to music — those varied effects 
of intonation, inflection, and modulation — is to be 
sought, not as a result from an isolated study of tech- 
nique, but from attention to those elements in associa- 
tion with the complete realization of the life of the 
story. Genuine feeling is worth more than mere iso- 
lated exercises to secure modulation, and complete 
realization eliminates the necessity of " pretending to 
be." The study of the fairy tale as literature, as has 
been indicated in the chapter on " Principles of Selec- 
tion," will therefore be fundamental to the presenta- 
tion of the tale. Entering into the motives of the story 
gives action, entering into the thought gives form, and 
entering into the feeling gives tone-color to the voice. 
The sincere desire to share the thought will be the best 
aid to bring expression. 

(3) A knowledge of gesture. The teacher must un- 
derstand the laws of gesture. The body is one means 
of the mind's expression. There is the eloquence of 
gesture and of pose. The simplest laws of gesture may 
be stated : — 



106 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

(a) All gesture precedes speech in proportion to the in- 

tense realization of emotion. 

(b) All expression begins in the face and passes to some 

other agent of the body in proportion to the quality 
of the emotion. The eye leads in pointing. 

(c) Hands and arms remain close to the body in gesture 

when intensity of emotion is controlled. 

In regard to gesture, a Children's Library pamph- 
let, dealing with the purpose of story-telling, has said, 
"The object of the story-teller is to present the story, 
not in the way advocated usually in the schools, but to 
present it with as little dramatic excitement and for- 
eign gesture as possible, keeping one's personality in 
the background and giving all prominence to the story 
itself, relying for interest in the story alone." The 
schools have perhaps been misinterpreted. It is clear 
that only that personality is allowable which inter- 
prets truly the story's life. The listening child must be 
interested in the life of the story, not in the story- 
teller; and therefore gesture, tone, or sentiment that is 
individual variation and addition to the story itself, 
detracts from the story, is foreign to its thought, and 
occupies a wrong place of prominence. It is possible 
to tell a story, however, just as the author tells it, and 
yet give it naturally by realizing it imaginatively and 
by using the voice and the body artistically, as means 
of expression. 

(4) A power of personality. What rules shall be 
given for the making of that personality which is 
to bring with it force in the telling of the tale and 



THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 107 

which must override phonetics, inflection, and ges- 
ture? 

The very best help towards acquiring that personal- 
ity which is the power of story-telling, is to have a 
power of life gained through the experience of having 
lived; to have a power of emotion acquired through the 
exercise of daily affairs; a power of imagination won 
from having dwelt upon the things of life with intent- 
ness, a power of sympathy .obtained from seeing the 
things of others as you meet them day by day; and 
a first-hand knowledge of the sights and sounds and 
beauties of Nature, a knowledge of bird and flower, 
tree and rock, their names and some of their secrets — 
a knowledge accumulated from actual contact with 
the real physical world. This power of life will enable 
the story-teller to enter, at the same time, into the life 
of the story she tells, and the life of those listening, to 
see the gift of the one and the need of the other. 

The ideal position for the story-teller is to be seated 
opposite the center of the semicircle of listeners, fac- 
ing them. The extreme nearness of the group, when the 
teller seeks the fingers of the listeners to add force to 
the telling, seems an infringement upon the child's 
personal rights. A strong personality will make the 
story go home without too great nearness and will 
want to give the children a little room so that their 
thoughts may meet hers out in the story. 

Suggestions for telling. Now that the teacher is 
ready to speak, her first step in the art of story-telling, 



108 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

which is the first step in the art of any teaching, which 
lies at the very foundation of teaching, which is the 
most important step, and which is the step that often 
is neglected, is the establishing of the personal relation 
between herself and the listener. This is one of those 
subtleties which evades measuring, but its influence 
is most lasting. It is the setting to the whole story of 
teaching. It must play so important a part because, 
as teacher and listener are both human beings, there 
must be between them a common bond of humanity. 
How do you wish to appear to this group of listeners? 
As a friend to be trusted, a brother or sister to give 
help, or as a good comrade to be played with ; as "mas- 
ter, expert, leader, or servant" ? If you wish to be as 
real and forceful as the characters in your story, you 
must do something which will cause the personal rela- 
tion you desire, to be established; and moreover, hav- 
ing established it, you must live up to it, and prove no 
friend without faith. You must do this before you 
presume to teach or to tell a story. You need not do it 
before each individual story you present to a group you 
meet often; you may do it so effectively, with a master- 
stroke, at the beginning when you first meet your 
class, that all you need do at successive meetings will 
be but to add point to your first establishment. 

A student-teacher, in telling a story to a group of 
kindergarten children who were complete strangers, 
and telling it to them as they sat in a semicircle in front 
of her comrades, adult students, established this per- 



THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 109 

sonal relation by beginning to tell the little children 
her experience with the first telling of Three Bears to a 
little girl of four : — Seated before a sand-box in the 

yard, after hearing the story of Three Bears, M 

had been asked, ** Would n't this be a good time for 
you to tell me the story ? " In reply, she paused, and 
while the story-teller was expecting her to begin, sud- 
denly said, " Do you think M 's big enough for all 

that? " and refused to tell a word. Then turning to 
the group before her, the student-teacher made the 
direct appeal. " But you are the biggest Uttle people 
in the kindergarten, and you would n't treat a story 
like that, would you.? " The children, through the 
personal picture of friendly story- telling with a little 
child, that paralleled their own situation somewhat, 
immediately felt at home with the teller; it was just as 
if they were the same intimate friends with her that the 
little girl portrayed to them was. The human bond of 
good comradeship and intimacy was established. In 
the direct appeal at the end, the children were held 
up to an ideal they dare not disappoint, they must live 
up to their size, be able to get the story, and be the 
biggest little people in the kindergarten by showing 
what they could do with it. Again there was an unde- 
fined problem thrown at them, as it were — an ele- 
ment of wonder. They did not know just what was 
coming and they were mentally alert, waiting, on the 
lookout. The way for the story was open. — This is 
what you want, for no matter how perfect a gem of 



110 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

folk-lore you tell, it will fall heedless if the children do 
not listen to it. 

The second step in the art of story-telling is one 
which grows naturally out of this first step. This sec- 
ond step, to put the story in a concrete situation for the 
child, to make the connection between the child and 
the literature you present, is the one which displays 
your unique power as an artist. It is the step which 
often is omitted and is the one which exercises all your 
individual ability and cleverness. It is the step which 
should speak comfort to the eager teacher of to-day, 
who is compelled to stand by, Montessori fashion, 
while many changing conceptions say to her: " Hands 
off! It is not what you do that helps the child de- 
velop; it is what he himself does! '* Here at least is one 
of the teacher's chances to act. This step is the open- 
ing of the gateway so that the story you are about to 
tell may enter into the thoughts of your listeners. It is 
your means to organize the tale in the child's life. If in 
the school program you permit nature study, represent- 
ing the central interest, to occupy the place of main 
emphasis, and if the game, occupation, and song work 
is related to the child's life, this organization of the 
child's tale in his life will be accomplished naturally. 

In the example cited above, both the establishment 
of the personal relation and the placing of the story in 
a concrete situation, were managed partly at the one 
stroke. Your best help to furnish a concrete situation 
will be to preserve at the one end a sympathy for the 



THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 111 

life of your story and at the other to perceive the experi- 
ence of the children in the Ustening group. Seeing both 
at once will result in a knowledge of what the children 
need most to make the story go home. If your chil- 
dren are good enough, and you and they suflficiently 
good friends to bear the fun of pantomime and the 
gaiety of hilarity, asking several boys, as they walk 
across the room before the children, to imitate some 
animals they had seen at a circus, and getting the 
children to guess the animal represented until they 
hit upon the elephant, would put certain children in 
a spirit of fun that would be exactly the wide-awake 
brightness and good humor needed to receive the story 
of The Elephanfs Child. You can get children best 
into the story-telling mood by calling up ideas in line 
with the story. In the case of the story cited above, 
under the establishment of the personal relation, the 
story. The Bremen Town Musicians, was related to the 
child's experience by a few questions concerning kinds 
of music he knew, and what musician and kind of 
music the kindergarten had. In telling Andersen's 
Tin Soldier you must call up experience concerning a 
soldier, not only because of the relation of the toy to 
the real soldier, but because the underlying meaning 
of the tale is courage, and the emotional theme is 
steadfastness. And to preserve the proper unity be- 
tween the tale and the telling of it, the telliAg must 
center itself in harmony with the message of the tale, its 
one dominant impression and its one dominant mood. 



112 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

Every story told results in some return from the 
child. The teacher, in her presentation, must conceive 
the child's aim in listening. This does not mean that she 
forces her aim upon him. But it does mean that she 
makes a mental list of the child's own possible prob- 
lems that the tale is best suited to originate, one of 
which the child himself will suggest. For the return 
should originate, not in imitation of what the teller 
plans, but spontaneously, as the child's own plan, an- 
swering to some felt need of his. But that does not 
prevent the story-teller from using her own imagina- 
tion, and through it, from realizing what opportunities 
for growth the story presents, and what possible activi- 
ties ought to be stimulated. A good guide will keep 
ahead of the children, know the possibilities of the ma- 
terial, and by knowledge and suggestion lead them 
to realize and accomplish the plans they crudely con- 
ceive. A consideration of these plans will modify the 
telHng of the tale, and should be definitely thought 
about before the telling of the tale. A story told defi- 
nitely to stimulate in the children dramatization, will 
emphasize action and dialogue; while one told to stim- 
ulate the painting of a water-color sketch, will empha- 
size the setting of the tale. 

The telling of the tale. With this preparation, di- 
rections seem futile. The tale should tell itself natu- 
rally. You must begin at the beginning, as your tale 
will if you have selected a good one. Y^ou must tell it 
simply, as your tale will have simplicity if it is a good 



THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 113 

one, and your telling must be in harmony with the tale 
you tell. You will tell it with joy; of course, if there is 
joy in it, or beauty, which is a " joy forever," or if you 
are giving joy to your listeners. Tell it, if possible, 
with a sense of bestowing a blessing, and a delicate 
perception of the reception it meets in the group be- 
fore you, and the pleasure and interest it arouses in 
them, so that in the telling there is that human setting 
which is a quickening of the spirit and a union of ideas, 
which is something quite new and dijfferent from the 
story, yet born of the story. 

The re-creative method of story-telling. This prepa- 
ration for telling here described will result in a funda- 
mental imitation of the author of the story. By par- 
ticipating in the life of the story; by realizing it as 
folklore; by realizing it as literature — its emotion, its 
imagination, its basis of truth, its message, its form; by 
paying conscious attention to the large units of the 
structure, the exact sequence of the plot, the charac- 
ters, and the setting, the particular details of descrip- 
tion, and the unique word — the story-teller repro- 
duces the author's mode of thinking. She does with 
her mind what she wishes the child to do with his. 
With the very little child in the kindergarten and early 
first grade, who analyzes but slightly, this results con- 
sciously in a clear notion of the story, which shows it- 
self in the child's free re-telling of the story as a whole. 
He may want to tell the story or he may not. Usually 
he enjoys re-telling it after some lapse of time; perhaps 



114 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

he tells it to himself, meanwhile. With the older child, 
who analyzes more definitely, this results in a re- 
telling which actually reproduces the teller's mode of 
thinking. If persisted in, it gives to one's mode of 
thinking, the story-mode^ just as nature study gives to 
life the nature point of view. This mode of thinking is 
the mode of re-creation^ of realization. It re-experiences 
the life, it reaches the processes of the mind, and de- 
velops free mind movement. It is a habit of thinking, 
and is at the basis of reading, which is thinking through 
symbols; at the basis of the memorization of poetry, 
which must first see the pictures the poet has por- 
trayed; it is the best help toward the adult study of 
literature, and the narration of history and geography. 
It is the power to conceive a situation, which is most 
useful in science, mathematics, and the reasoning of 
logic. " For," says Professor John Dewey, ** the mind 
which can make independent judgments, look at facts 
with fresh vision, and reach conclusions with simplic- 
ity, is the perennial power in the world." 

This re-creative method of fundamental imitation 
was illustrated in the telling of Andersen's Princess 
and the Pea, in a student-teacher's class : — 

The story was told by the Professor. After the telling of 
the story it was decided to have the story told again, but this 
time in parts and by those who had listened, in such a way 
that it would seem as if one person were telling the whole 
story. 

The Professor named the first part of the story. A student 
was asked to tell the story from the beginning to the end of 



THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 115 

the Prince's coming home again, sad at heart. Another student 
told the second part, beginning with the storm and ending 
with what the old Queen thought. A third student told the 
third part, beginning with the next morning and ending with 
the close of the story. Now this is a true story. 

The Professor next asked students to think over the entire 
story, to see if each student could find any weak places in the 
remembering of the story. Several students reported diffi- 
culty — one failed to remember the exact description of the 
storm. A number of details were thus filled in, in the exact 
words of the author. After this intimate handling of the 
separate parts of the story, a final re-telling by one student 
— omitted in this case because of lack of time — would 
bring together what had been contributed by individual 
students, and would represent the final re-creation of the 
entire story. 

The simplicity of this selection, the simplicity of the plot, 
the few characters, the literary art of the story, the skillful 
use of the unique word, the art of presenting distinct pic- 
tures by means of vivid words, through suggestion rather 
than through illustration, together with the delicate humor 
that hovered about the tale, and the art of the Professor's 
telling — all combined in the final effect. The re- telling of 
the story in parts accomplished the analysis of the story into 
three big heads : — 

(1) From The Prince who wanted a real Princess ... to his 

return home. 

(2) From The storm, one dark evening ... to what the old Queen 

thought. 

(3) From What ike Queen did next morning ... to ike end of the 

story. 

In the analysis of the story into parts, telling exactly what 
happened gave the framework of the story, gave its basis of 
meaning. Telling it in three steps gave a strong sense of se- 
quence and a vivid conception of climax. — If the division 
into parts for re-telling corresponds with the natural divi- 
sions of the plot into its main episodes, this telling in steps 
impresses the structure of the tale and is in harmony with 
the real literary mastery of the story. — The re-telling of 



116 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

each part drew attention to the visualization of that part. 
Each hesitation on behalf of a student telling a part, led 
the class to fill in the details for themselves, and impressed 
the remembrance of the exact words of the author. This re- 
sulted in the mastery of each part through a visualization of 
it. Hand in hand with the visualization came the feeling 
aroused by the realization. This was more easily mastered 
because changes of feeling were noticeable in passing from 
one part of the story to another. 

After a mastery of the structure of the story through anal- 
ysis, after a mastery of the thought, imagination, and feeling 
of the story, after a mastery of the form, and the exact 
words of the author in the description of details embodied in 
that form, the story is possessed as the teller's own, ready to 
be given, not only to bestow pleasure, as in this case, but 
often to transmit a message of worth and to preserve a classic 
form. 

The Foolish Timid Rabbity a Jataka tale, might be pre- 
pared for telling by this same re-creative method of story- 
telling. It must be remembered — and because of its im- 
portance it will bear repetition, — that the separation of the 
story-structure into parts for separate telling should always 
be in harmony with the divisions of the plot so that there 
may be no departure from the author's original mode of 
thinking, and no break in the natural movement of se- 
quence. A separation of the tale into parts for re-telling 
would result in the following analysis: — 

(1) Rabbit asleep under a palm tree ... to his meeting hundreds 

of Rabbits. 

(2) Rabbits met a Deer ... to when the Elephant joined them. 

(3) Lion saw the animals running ... to when he came to the 

Rabbit ivho first had said the earth was all breaking up. 

(4) Lion asked the Foolish Rabbit, ' Is it true the earth is all break- 

ing up^ ... to end of the story, ' And they all stopped run- 
ning,' 

After the re-telling of these parts, each part should be 
filled in with the exact details so that in the final re-telling 
practically the whole tale is reproduced. This is a very good 
tale to tell by this method because the theme is attractive. 



THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 117 

the plot is simple, the sequence a very evident movement, 
the characters distinctive, the setting pleasing and rather 
prominent, and the details suflficiently few and separate to 
be grasped completely. The final re- telling therefore may be 
accomplished readily as a perfected result of this method of 
telling a tale. 

During the telling, the charm here is in preserving the 
typical bits of dialogue, giving to the Lion's words that force 
and strength and sagacity which rank him the King of the 
Beasts. One must feel clearly the message and make this 
message enter mto every part of the telling: That the Lion 
show^ed his superior wisdom by making a stand and asking 
for facts, by accepting only what he tested; while the Rabbit 
showed his credulity by foolishly accepting what he heard 
without testmg it. 

Adaptation of the fairy tale. Sometimes, in telling a 
story one cannot tell it exactly as it is. This may be 
the case when the story is too long for a purpose, or if 
it contains matter which had better be omitted, or if it 
needs to be amplified. In any case one must follow 
these general rules : — 

(1) Preserve the essential story from a single point of 

view. 

(2) Preserve a clear sequence with a distinct climax. 

(3) Preserve a simplicity of plot and simple language. 

In shortening a long story one may — 

(1) Eliminate secondary themes. 

(2) Eliminate extra personages. 

(3) Eliminate passages of description. 

(4) Eliminate irrelevant events. 

It has been the practice to adapt such stories as 
Andersen's Ugly Duckling and Ruskin's King of the 
Golden River. In the King of the Golden River the de- 



118 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

scription of Treasure Valley could be condensed into a 
few sentences and the character of South West Wind 
omitted; and in The Ugly Duckling y passages of descrip- 
tion and bits of philosophy might be left out. But there 
is no reason why literature in the elementary school 
should be treated with mutilation. These stories are 
not suited to the kindergarten or first grade and may 
be reserved for the third and fourth grades where they 
may be used and enjoyed by the children as they are. 
Andersen's Thumhelina might be adapted for kin- 
dergarten children because it is suitable for them yet it 
is very long. It could easily be analyzed into its lead- 
ing episodes, each episode making a complete tale, and 
one or more episodes be told at one time. This would 
have the added attraction for the child of having 
one day's story follow naturally the preceding story. 
Adapted thus, the episodes would be : — 

(1) Thumbelina in her Cradle. 

(2) Thumbelina and the Toad. 

(3) Thumbelina and the Fishes. 

(4) Thumbelina and the Cockchafer in the tree. 

(5) Thumbelina and the Field-Mouse. 

(6) Thumbelina and the Mole. 

(7) Thumbelina and the Swallow. 

(8) Thumbelina as Queen of the Flowers. 

Andersen's Snow Man as adapted for the kinder- 
garten would require the episode of the lover omitted. 
It is irrelevant, not essential to the story, and is an il- 
lustration of the sentimental, which must be omitted 
when we use Andersen. To omit this episode one 



THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 119 

would cut out from " * That is wonderfully beautiful,' 
said a young girl," to the end of " * Why, they belong 
to the Master,' retorted the Yard Dog." 

III. THE RETURN FROM THE CHILD ^ 
The telling of the fairy tale is one phase of the 
teacher's art. And it is maintained that fairy tales are 
one portion of subject-matter suited to accomplish the 
highest greatness of the teaching art. For teaching is 
an art, an art of giving suggestions, of bearing influ- 
ences, of securing adjustments, an art of knowing the 
best and of making it known. The material the artist 
works upon is the living child. The medium the artist 
uses is subject-matter. In the process the artist must 
ask, " What new connections or associations am I es- 
tablishing in the child.? " " To what power of curiosity 
and of problem-solving do these connections and as- 
sociations lead? " The ideal which guides the teacher 
is the child's best self as she can interpret him. This 
ideal will be higher and larger than the child himself 
can know. In the manipulation of subject-matter, 

* What if we could give the child that which is called education 
through his voluntary activities, and have him always as eager as he 
is at play! (Froebel.) 

What if we could let the child be free and happy, and yet bring to 
him those things which he ought to have so that he will choose them 
freely! 

What would be the possibilities for a future race if we would give 
the child mind a chance to come out and express itself, if we would 
remove adult repression, offer a stimulus, and closely watch the 
product, untouched by adult skill. (Unknown.) 

The means by which the higher selective interest is aroused, is the 
exercise of selected forms of activity. (Susan Blow.) 



120 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

through the practical appHcation of principles, the 
artist aims to have the child awake, inquire, plan, and 
act, so that under her influences he grows by what he 
thinks, by what he feels, by what he chooses, and by 
what he achieves. 

Teaching will be good art when the child's growth is 
a perfect fit to the uses of his life, when subject-matter 
brings to him influences he needs and can use. Teach- 
ing will be good art when it breaks up old habits, 
starts new ones, strengthens good traits, and weakens 
bad ones; when it gives a new attitude of cheerfulness 
in life or of thoughtf ulness for others or of reason in all 
things. It will be good art when under it the child 
wants to do something and learns how to do it. Teach- 
ing will be great art when under it the child continually 
attains self-activity, self-development, and self-con- 
sciousness, when he continually grows so that he may 
finally contribute his utmost portion to the highest 
evolution of the race. Teaching will be great art when 
it touches the emotions of the child, — when history 
calls forth a warm indignation against wrong, when 
mathematics strengthens a noble love of truth or liter- 
ature creates a strong satisfaction in justice. This is the 
poetry of teaching, because mere subject-rnatter be- 
comes a criticism of life. Teaching will be great art 
when you, the teacher, through the humble means of 
your presentation of subject-matter, furnish the child 
at the same time with ideas, perceptions, and opinions 
which are your personal criticism of life. Teaching 



THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 121 

will be great art when you, the teacher, have worked 
up into your own character a portion of life which is 
of value, so that the child coming in touch with you 
knows an influence more powerful than anything 
you can do or say. Teaching will then awaken in the 
child a social relation of abiding confidence, of secure 
trust, of faith unshakable. And this relation will then 
create for the teacher the obligation to keep this trust 
inviolable, to practice daily, noblesse oblige. Teach- 
ing will be great art when with the subject-matter the 
artist gives love, a great universal kindness that thinks 
not of itself but, being no respecter of persons, looks 
upon each child in the light of that child's own best 
realization. This penetrating sympathy, this great 
understanding, will call forth from the child an an- 
swering love, which grows daily into a larger humanity 
of soul until the child, in time too, comes to have a uni- 
versal sympathy. This is the true greatness of teach- 
ing. This it is which brings the child into harmony 
with the Divine love which speaks in all God's handi- 
work and brings him into that unity with God which 
is the mystery of Froebel's teaching. 

During the story-telling one must ask, " In all this 
what is the part the child has to play.^ " In the telling 
the teacher has aimed to give what there is in the tale. 
The child's part is to receive what there is in the tale, 
the emotion, the imagination, the truth, and the form 
embodied in the tale. The content of feeling, of por- 
trayal, of truth, and of language he receives, he will 



122 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

in some way transmit before the school day is ended, 
even if in forms obscure and hidden. Long years after- 
wards, he may exhibit this same emotion, imagination, 
truth and form, in deeds that proclaim loudly the re- 
turn from his fairy tales. However, if the child is being 
surrounded by pragmatic influences through his teach- 
ers he will soon become aware that his feelings are use- 
less unless he does something because of them; that 
what he sees is worthless unless he sees to some pur- 
pose; that it is somewhat fruitless to know the truth 
and not use it; and if words have in their form ex- 
pressed the life of the tale, he is more dead than words 
not to express the life that teems within his own soul. 
The little child grows gradually into the responsibility 
for action, for expression, into a consciousness of pur- 
pose and a knowledge of his own problems. But each 
opportunity he is given to announce his own initiative 
breaks down the inhibition of inaction and aids him to 
become a free achieving spirit. As the child listens to 
the tale he is a thinking human creature; but in the 
return which he makes to his tale he becomes a quick- 
ened creator. The use which he makes of the ideas he 
has gained through his fairy tales, will be the work of 
his creative imagination. 

Fairy tales, though perfectly ordinary subject- 
matter, may become the means of the greatest end in 
education, the development in the child of the power 
of consciousness. The special appeal to the various 
powers and capacities of the child mind, such as emo- 



THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 123 

tion, imagination, memory, and reason, here have 
been viewed separately. But in Hfe action the mind is 
a unit. Thinking is therefore best developed through 
subject-matter which focuses the various powers of 
the child. The one element which makes the child 
manipulate his emotion, imagination, memory, and 
reason, is the presence of a problem. The problem is 
the best chance for the child to secure the adjustment 
of means to ends. This adjustment of means to ends in 
a problem situation, is real thinking and is the use of 
the highest power of which man is capable, that of 
functional consciousness. The real need of doing 
things is the best element essential to the problem. 
Through a problem which expresses such a genuine 
need, to learn to know himself, to realize his capacities 
and his limitations, and to secure for himself the evo- 
lution of his own character until it adapts, not itself to 
its environment, but its environment to its own uses 
and masters circumstances for its own purposes — 
this is the high hill to which education must look, 
" from which cometh its strength.'* The little child, in 
listening to a fairy tale, in seeing in it a problem of 
real need, and in working it out, may win some of this 
strength. We have previously seen that fairy tales, be- 
cause of their universal elements, are subject-matter 
rich in possible problems. 

During the story-telling what is the part the child 
has to play? The part of the child in all this may be to 
listen to the story because he has some problem of his 



124 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

own to work out through the Hterature, because he has 
some purpose of his own in Hstening, because he enjoys 
the story and wishes to find out what there is in it, or 
because he expects it to show him what he may after- 
wards wish to do with it. In any case the child's part is 
to see the characters and what they do, to follow the 
sequence of the tale, and to realize the life of the story 
through the telling. He may have something to say 
about the story at the close of the telling, he may wish 
to compare its motifs with similar motifs in other tales, 
or he may wish to talk about the life exhibited by the 
story. The various studies of the curriculum every day 
are following more closely the Greek ideal and giv- 
ing the child daily exercise to keep the channels of ex- 
pression free and open. And when the well-selected 
fairy tale which is art is told, through imitation and in- 
vention it awakens in the child the art-impulse and 
tends to carry him from appreciation to expression. 
If before the telling the story-teller has asked herself, 
" What variety of creative reaction will this tale 
arouse in the child? *' and if she has told the story in 
the way to bring forward the best possibility for crea- 
tive reaction the nature of the tale affords, she will 
help to make clear to the child what he himself will 
want to do with the story. She will help him to see a 
way to use the story to enter into his everyday life. 
The return of creative reaction possible to the child 
will be that in harmony with his natural instincts or 
large general interests. These instincts, as indicated 



THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 125 

by Professor John Dewey, in The School and Society, 
are: (1) the instinct of conversation or communica- 
tion; (2) the instinct of inquiry or jfinding out things; 

(3) the instinct of construction or making things; and 

(4) the instinct of artistic expression or [of imitating 
and combining things]. 

(1) The instinct of conversation. The Httle child 
likes to talk. If you have ever listened to a little girl of 
five artlessly proceeding to tell a story, such as Little 
Black Sambo, which she had gathered from looking at a 
neighbor's book, but which she had not yet mastered 
sufficiently to grasp its central theme, reiterating the 
particular incidents with the enthusiasm and joy and 
narrative tone of the story-teller, you realized how the 
child likes to talk. For there appeared the charm of 
the story-telling mode distinct from the story it told. 

Because of this instinct of conversation one form of 
creative reaction may be language expression. The oral 
reproduction of the story re-experiences the story 
anew. The teacher may help here by creating a situa- 
tion for the re-telling. A teacher might put a little for- 
eign boy through rapid paces in learning English by 
selecting a story like The Sparrow and the Crow and 
by managing that in the re-telling the little foreigner 
would be the Crow who makes the repetitive speeches, 
who must go to the Pond and say: — 

Your name, sir, is Pond 
And my name is Crow, 
Please give me some water. 
For if you do so 



126 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

I can wash and be neat. 
And the nice soup can eat, 
Though I really don't know 
What the sparrow can mean, 
I'm quite sure, as crows go, 
I'm remarkably clean. 

As the Crow must go to the Deer, the Cow, the Grass, 
and the Blacksmith, and each time varies the begin- 
ning of his speech, four other children could represent 
the Crow successively, thus bringing in a social ele- 
ment which would relieve any one child's timidity. 
By that time any group of children would realize the 
fun they could get by playing out the simple tale; and 
there would be petitions to be the Deer, the Cow, etc. 
If the teacher sees that the characters place themselves 
as they should, carry out the parts naturally, and that 
the Crow begs with the correct rhyme, she is perform- 
ing her legitimate task of suggestion and criticism that 
works toward developing from the first attempts of 
children, a good form in harmony with the story. 
Here, while there is free play, the emphasis is on the 
speeches of rhyme, so that the reaction is largely a 
language expression. The language expression is inti- 
mately related to all varieties of expression of which 
the child is capable, and may be made to dominate 
and use any of them, or be subordinated to them. 

A most delightful form of creative reaction possible 
to the child in language expression, is the formation of 
original little stories similar to the " Toy Stories " writ- 
ten by Carolyn Bailey for the Kindergarten Review dur- 



THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 127 

ing 1915. A story similar to '*The Little Woolly Dog" 
might be originated by the little child about any one of 
his toys. This would be related to his work with fairy 
tales because in such a story the child would be imi- 
tating his accumulative tales; and the adventures 
given the toy would be patterned after the familiar 
adventures of his tales. 

A form of creative reaction, which will be a part of 
the language return given by the first-grade child from 
the telling of the tale, will be his reading of the tale. 
When the child re-experiences the life of the story as 
has been described, his mental realization of it will be 
re-creative, and his reading the tale aloud afterwards 
will be just as much a form of re-creative activity as 
his re-telling of the tale. The only difference is, that in 
one case the re-creative activity is exercised by think- 
ing through symbols, while in the other case it is em- 
ployed without the use of a book. This concentration 
on the reality brings about the proper relation of read- 
ing to literature. It frees literature from the slavery to 
reading which it has been made to serve, yet it makes 
literature contribute more effectively toward good 
reading than it has done in the past. 

(2) The instinct of inquiry. No more predominating 
trait proclaims itself in the child than the instinct of 
inquiry. Every grown-up realizes his habit of asking 
questions, which trait Kipling has idealized delight- 
fully in The Elephant's Child. We know also that the 
folk-tale in its earliest beginnings was the result of 



128 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

primitive man's curiosity toward the actual physical 
world about him, its sun and sky, its mountain and its 
sea. The folk-tale therefore is the living embodiment 
of the child's instinct of inquiry permanently recorded 
in the adventures and surprises of the folk-tale char- 
acters. And because the folk-tale is so pervaded with 
this quest of the ages in search of truth, and because 
the child by nature is so deeply imitative, the folk-tale 
inherently possesses an educational value to stir and 
feed original impulses of investigation and experi- 
ment. This is a value which is above and beyond its 
more apparent uses. 

In the creative reaction to be expected from the 
child's use of fairy tales the expression of this instinct 
of investigation unites with the instinct of conversa- 
tion, the instinct of construction, and the instinct of 
artistic expression. In fact, it is the essence of creative 
reaction in any form, whether in the domain of the 
Industrial Shop, the Domestic Science Kitchen, the 
Household Arts' Sewing-Room, or the Fine Arts' 
Studio. To do things and then see what happens, is 
both the expression of this instinct and the basis of any 
creative return the child makes through his handling 
of the fairy tale. In the formation of a little play such 
as is given on page 149, the instinct of conversation is 
expressed in the talk of the Trees to the little Bird. 
But this talk of the Trees also expresses doing things to 
see what happens; each happening to the Bird, each 
reply of a Tree to the Bird, influences each successive 



THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 129 

doing of the Bird. After the Story of Medio Pollito all 
the child's efforts of making Little Half-Chick into a 
weathervane and of fixing the directions to his upright 
shaft, will be expressions of the search for the un- 
known, of the instinct of experiment. After the story 
of The Little Elves, the dance of the Elves to the ac- 
companiment of music will represent an expression of 
the artistic instinct; but it also represents expression 
of the instinct for the new and the untried. After the 
dance is finished the child has seen himself do some- 
thing he had not done before. This union of the in- 
stinct of inquiry with that of artistic expression shows 
itseK most completely in the entire dramatization of a 
fairy tale. 

(3) The instinct of construction. In his industrial 
work the very youngest child is daily exercising his ac- 
tive tendency to make things. In the kindergarten he 
may make the toy with which he plays, the doll-house 
and its furnishings, small clay dishes, etc. In the first 
grade he may make small toy animals, baskets, paper 
hats, card-board doll-furniture, little houses, book- 
covers, toys, etc. Self-expression, self -activity, and con- 
structive activity would all be utilized, and the work 
would have more meaning to the child, if it expressed 
some idea, if after the story of Three Bears the child 
would make the Bears' kitchen, the table of wood, 
and the three porridge bowls of clay, or the Bears' hall 
with the three chairs. In the Grimm tale. Sweet Rice 
Porridge, after the story has been told and before the 



130 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

re-telling, children would like to make a clay porridge- 
pot, which could be there before them in the re-telling. 
Perhaps they would make the rice porridge also, and 
put some in the pot, for little children are very fond of 
making things to eat, and domestic science has de- 
scended even into the kindergarten. After the story of 
Chanticleer and Partlet, children would enjoy making 
a little wagon and harnessing to it a Duck, and putting 
in it the Cock and the Hen, little animals they have 
made. In the first grade, after the story of Sleeping 
Beauty y children would naturally take great pleasure in 
making things needed to play the story : the paper sil- 
ver and gold crowns of the maids and Princess and the 
Prince's sword. After the story of Medio PollitOy we 
have noted with what special interest children might 
make a weathervane, with Little Half-Chick upon it! 

(4) The instinct of artistic expression. This is the 
instinct of drawing, painting, paper-cutting, and 
crayon-sketching, the instinct of song, rhythm, dance, 
and game, of free play and dramatization. 

(a) One form of artistic creative reaction will be 
the cutting of free silhouette pictures. The child should 
attempt this with the simplest of the stories which are 
suited for drawing, painting, or crayon-sketching. He 
loves to represent the animals he sees every day; and 
the art work should direct this impulse and show him 
how to do it so that he may draw or cut out a dog, a 
cat, a sheep, or a goat; or simple objects, as a broom, a 
barrel, a box, a table, and a chair. The Bremen Town 



THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 131 

Musicians, while offering a fine opportunity for drama- 
tization, also might stimulate the child to cut out the 
silhouettes of the Donkey, the Dog, the Cat, and the 
Cock, to draw the window of the cottage and to place 
the animals one on top of another, looking in the 
window. The beautiful picture-books illustrating his 
fairy tales, which the child may see, will give him 
many ideas of drawing and sketching, and help him to 
arrange his silhouettes. A recent primer. The Panto- 
mime Primer, will give the child new ideas in silhou- 
ettes. Recent articles in the Kindergarten Review will 
give the teacher many helpful suggestions along the 
line of expression. In the May number, 1915, in Illus- 
trated Stories, the story of " Ludwig and Marleen,'* by 
Jane Hoxie, is shown as a child might illustrate it with 
paper-cutting. — A class of children were seen very 
pleasantly intent on cutting out of paper a basket filled 
with lovely tinted flowers. But how attractive that 
same work would have become if the basket had been 
Red Riding Hood's basket and they were being 
helped by an art-teacher to show peeping out of her 
basket the cake and pot of butter, with the nosegay 
tucked in one end. A very practical problem in paper- 
cutting would arise in any room when children desire 
to make a frieze to decorate the front wall. The Old 
Woman and her Pig, The Country Mouse and the City 
Mouse, The Little Red Hen, The Stcyry of Three Pigs, 
The Story of Three Bears, and Little Top-Knot, would 
be admirably adapted for simple work. 



132 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

(b) The Straw, the Coaly and the Bean is most likely 
to stir the child's impulse to draw. Leslie Brooke's il- 
lustration in The House in the Wood might aid a child 
who wanted to put some fun into his representation. 
Birdie and Lena or Fundevogel, is a story that naturally 
would seek illustration. Three crayon-sketches, one of a 
rosebush and a rose, a second of a church and a steeple, 
and a third of a pond and a duck, would be enough to 
suggest the tale. 

(c) The Story of the Wolf and Seven Kids, if told 
with the proper emphasis on the climax of triumph 
and conclusion of joy, would lead the child to react 
with a water-color sketch of the dance of the Goat and 
her Kids about the well. For here you have all the 
elements needed for a simple picture — the sky, the 
full moon, the hill-top, the well, and the animals danc- 
ing in a ring. After finishing their sketches the chil- 
dren would enjoy comparing them with the illustration 
of Der Wolf und die Siehen Geislein in Das Deutsche 
Bilderhiich, and perhaps they might try making a sec- 
ond sketch. This same tale would afford the children a 
chance to compose a simple tune and a simple song, 
such as the well-taught kindergarten child to-day 
knows. Such are songs which express a single theme 
and a single mood; as. The Muffin Man and To the 
Great Brown House; or There was a Small Boy with a 
Toot and Dapple Gray in St. Nicholas Songs. In this 
tale of The Wolf and Seven Kids, the conclusion im- 
presses a single mood of joy and the single theme of 



THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 133 

freedom because the Wolf is dead. The child could 
produce a very simple song of perhaps two lines, such 
as, — 

Let's sing and dance! Hurrah, hurrah! 
The Wolf is dead! Hurrah! 

(d) It is a little difficult to get down to the simplicity 
of the little girl who will play her own tune upon the 
piano and sing to it just the number of the house in 
which she lives, repeating it again and again. But the 
child can compose little songs that will please him, and 
he can use, too, in connection with the tales, some of 
the songs that he knows. The first-grade child could 
work into Snow White and Rose Redy " Good mor- 
row, little rosebush," and into Little Two-Eyes a lul- 
laby such as " Sleep, baby, sleep." Later in Hansel 
and Grethel he may learn some of the simple songs that 
have been written for Hansel and Grethel to sing to 
the birds when they spend the night in the wood. In 
Snow White he may learn some of the songs written for 
the children's play. Snow White. In connection with 
music, the kindergarten child learns to imitate the 
sounds of animals, the sound of bells, whistles, the 
wind, etc. All this will cause him to react, so that 
when these occur in his stories he will want to make 
them. 

(e) One of the forms of creative reaction possible to 
the child as a variety of expression, which has received 
attention most recently, has been handled by Miss 
Caroline Crawford in Rhythm Plays of Childhood; and 



134 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

by Miss Carol Oppenheimer in " Suggestions Con- 
cerning Rhythm Plays," in the Kindergarten Review^ 
April and May, 1915. Here again the fairy tales can- 
not be excelled in abundant situations for rhythm 
plays. The sea, the wind, the clouds, the sun, the 
moon, the stars — all nature is rich in suggestion of 
rhythms. The social situations furnish the rhythm of 
simple housekeeping tasks. In Snow White and Rose 
Red there are the rhythms of fishing and of chasing 
animals. In The Elves we have the rhythm of shoe- 
making and in The Straw Ore, the rhythm of spinning. 
The story of Thumbelina, after its eight episodes have 
been re-told by the children, might very attractively 
be re-told in eight rhythms, each rhythm expressing a 
single episode. And for the oldest children, a union of 
the oral re-telling by individual children with the re- 
telling in rhythms by all the children, would give 
much pleasure and social exhilaration. Thumbelina in 
her Cradle, Thumbelina and the Toad, Thumbelina 
and the Swallow and Thumbelina as Queen of the 
Flowers — these at once suggest a cradle rhythm, a 
toad rhythm, the flight of birds, and a butterfly dance. 
Because the rhythm is a lyric form it must be remem- 
bered that the part of a story suited to a rhythm play 
is always a part characterized by a distinct emotional 
element. In the performance of rhythm plays the point 
is to secure the adjustment of music, motion, and idea. 
(/) Many of the fairy tales might arouse in the child 
a desire to originate a game, especially if he were accus- 



THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 135 

tomed to originate games in the regular game work. A 
modification of the game of tag might grow from Red 
Riding Hood and a pleasant ring game easily might 
develop from Sleeping Beauty. In fact there is a tradi- 
tional English game called " Sleeping Beauty." An 
informal ring game which would be somewhat of a joke, 
and would have the virtue of developing attention, 
might grow from The Tin Soldier. The Tin Soldier 
stands in the center while the circle is formed of Jack- 
in-the-boxes, with lids closed. The Tin Soldier turns 
round and round slowly, and when he stops looks 
steadily at a certain Jack-in-the-box, whereupon the 
Jack must bob up and retort, " Keep your eyes to your- 
self. Tin Soldier ! " The Jack and Soldier then change 
places. Any Jack failing to open when looked at for- 
feits his place in the ring. Some games derived from 
folk-tales were given in the Delineator, November, 
1914. These could not be used by the youngest with- 
out adaptation; they suggest a form of fun that so far 
as I know has been undeveloped. 

(g) The artistic creative return of the child may 
sometimes take the form of oh j edification or represen- 
tation. The Steadfast Tin Soldier is a model of the 
literary fairy tale which gives a stimulus to the child to 
represent his fairy tale objectively. As straightfor- 
ward narrative it ranks high. Its very first clause is 
the child's point of view: " There were five and twenty 
tin soldiers"; for the child counts his soldiers. Cer- 
tainly the theme is unique and the images clear-cut. 



136 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

It makes one total impression and it has one emotional 
tone to which everything is made to contribute. Its 
message of courage and its philosophy of life, which 
have been mentioned previously, are not so insignifi- 
cant even if the story does savor of the sentimental. 
Its structure is one single line of sequence, from the 
time this marvelous soldier was stood up on the table, 
until he, like many another toy, was thrown into the 
fire. The vivid language used gives vitality to the 
story, the words suit the ideas, and often the words 
recall a picture or suggestion; as, "The Soldier fell 
headlong,'^ " trod,^^ " came down in torrents,'^ " boat 
bohbed,'^ " spun round," " clasped his gun," " boat 
shot along," " blinked his eyes," etc. The method of 
suggestion by which an object is described through its 
effect on some one else, produces a very pleasing result 
here. You see the steadfast look of the Tin Soldier's 
eyes when the Jack-in-the-box says, " Keep your eyes 
to yourself. Tin Soldier! " The position'of the Soldier 
in the street is given through the exclamation of the 
little boys who see him — ** Look! there lies a Tin 
Soldier, let us give him a sail in the gutter! " 

The setting in this story is a table in a sitting-room 
and the playthings on the table. The characters are 
two playthings. After the first telling of this story the 
child naturally would like to represent it. The story 
has made his playthings come alive and so he would 
like to make them appear also. This is a tale in which 
representation, after the first telling, will give to the 



THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 137 

child much pleasure and will give him a chance to do 
something with it cooperatively. He can reproduce 
the setting of this tale upon a table in a schoolroom. 
Each child could decide what is needed to represent 
the story and offer what he can. One child could make 
the yard outside the castle of green blotting-paper. 
Another child could furnish a mirror for the lake, an- 
other two toy green trees, one two wax swans, one a 
box of tin soldiers, another a jack-in-the-box, while the 
girls might dress a paper doll for a tinsel maid. The 
teacher, instructed by the class, might make a castle 
of heavy gray cardboard, fastening it together with 
heavy brass paper-fasteners and cutting out the door, 
windows, and tower. It is natural for children to 
handle playthings; and when a story like this is fur- 
nished the teacher should not be too work-a-day to 
enter into its play-spirit. After the representation ob- 
jectively, the re-telling of the tale might be enjoyed. 
The child who likes to draw might tell this story also 
in a number of little sketches: The Jack-in-the-box, 
The Window, The Boat, The Rat, The Fish, and The 
Fire. Or a very simple little dramatic dance and song 
might be invented, characterized by a single mood and 
a single form of motion, something like this, sung to 
the tune of ** Here we go round the mulberry bush, 
etc": — 

Here we come marching, soldiers tin, soldiers tin, soldiers tin. 
Here we come marching, soldiers tin, 
On one leg steady we stand. 

(Circle march on one leg). 



138 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

This could easily be concluded with a game if the child 
who first was compelled to march on two legs had to 
pay some penalty, stand in the center of the ring, or 
march at the end of the line. 

{h) Creative reaction as a result of listening to the 
telling of fairy tales, appears in its most varied form of 
artistic expression in free play and dramatization. It is 
here that the child finds a need for the expression of all 
his skill in song and dance, construction, language, and 
art, for here he finds a use for these things. 

In free play the child represents the characters and 
acts out the story. His desire to play will lead to a 
keenness of attention to the story-telling, which is the 
best aid to re-experiencing, and the play will react 
upon his mind and give greater power to visualize. 
Nothing is better for the child than the freedom and 
initiative used in dramatization, and nothing gives 
more self-reliance and poise than to act, to do some- 
thing. — We must remember that in the history of the 
child's literature it was education that freed his spirit 
from the deadening weight of didacticism in the days 
of the New England Primer. And we must now have a 
care that education never may become guilty of crush- 
ing the spirit of his freedom, spontaneity, and imagina- 
tion, by a dead formalism in its teaching method. — 
The play develops the voice, and it gives freedom and 
grace to bodily movements. It fixes in the child mind 
the details of the story and impresses effectively many 
a good piece of Hterature ; it combines intellectual, 



THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 139 

emotional, artistic, and physical action. The simplest 
kindergarten plays, such as The Farmer, The Black- 
smith, and Little Travelers, naturally lead into playing 
a story such as The Sheep and the Pig or The Ginger- 
bread Man. The Mouse that Lost Her Tail and The 
Old Woman and Her Pig are delightful simple plays 
given in Chain Stories and Playlets by Mara Chadwick 
and E. Gray Freeman, suited to the kindergarten to 
play or the first grade to read and play. Working out a 
complete dramatization of a folk-tale such as Sleeping 
Beauty, in the first grade, and having the children come 
into the kindergarten and there play it for them, will 
be a great incentive toward catching the spirit of im- 
aginatively entering into a situation which you are 
not. This is the essential for dramatization. Johnny 
Cake is a good tale to be played in the kindergarten 
because it uses a great number of children. As the 
kindergarten room generally is large, it enables the 
children who represent the man, the woman, the little 
boy, etc., to station themselves at some distance. 

There are some dangers in dramatization which are 
to be avoided : — 

(1) Dramatization often is in very poor form. The 
result is not the important thing, but the process. And 
sometimes teachers have understood this to mean, 
" Hands off ! " and left the children to their crude im- 
pulses, unaided and unimproved. When the child 
shows ivhat he is trying to do the teacher may show 
him how he can do what he wants to do. By suggestion 



140 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

and criticism she may get him to improve his first 
effort, provided she permits him to be absolutely free 
when he acts. — The place of this absolute freedom in 
the child's growth has been emblazoned to the kinder- 
garten by the Montessori System. — Also by partici- 
pating in the play as one of the characters, the teacher 
may help to a better form. Literature will be less dis- 
torted by dramatization when teachers are better 
trained to see the possibilities of the material, when 
through training they appreciate the tale as one of the 
higher forms of literature, and respect it accordingly. 
Also it will be less distorted by dramatization when 
the tales selected for use are those containing the little 
child's interests, when he will have something to ex- 
press which he really knows about. Moreover, as 
children gain greater skill in expression in construc- 
tion, in the game, in song, in dance, and in speech, the 
parts these contribute to the play will show a more 
perfected form. Each expression by the child grows 
new impressions, gives him new sensory experiences. 
Perhaps if the high school would realize the possibili- 
ties in a fairy tale such as Beauty and the Beast, work it 
up into really good artistic form, and play it for the 
little children, much would be gained not only to- 
wards good form in dramatics, in both the elementary 
school and the high school, but towards unifying the 
entire course of literature from the kindergarten to the 
university. Using Crane's picture-book as a help, they 
might bring into the play the beauty of costume and 



THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 141 

scenery, the court-jester, and Beauty's pages. Into the 
Rose-Garden they might bring a dance of Moon Fair- 
ies, Dawn Fairies, Noon, and Night who, in their sym- 
bohc gauzy attire, dance to persuade Beauty to re- 
main in the Beast's castle. There might be singing 
fairies who decorate the bushes with fairy roses, and 
others who set the table with fairy dishes, singing as 
they work: — 

See the trees with roses gay. 
Fairy roses, fairy roses, etc. 

Elves and Goblins might surround the Beast when 
dying. The change of scene from the simple home of 
Beauty to the rich castle of the Beast, and the change 
of costume, would furnish ample opportunity for origi- 
nal artistic work from older students. For the little 
child it is good to see the familiar dignified with art 
and beauty; and for the older student the imagination 
works more freely when dealing with rather simple 
and familiar elements such as the folk-tale offers. 
Cinderella, like Beauty and the Beast, offers abundant 
opportunity to the high school student for a play or 
pantomime which it would be good for the little people 
to see. The stately minuet and folk-dances of differ- 
ent peoples may be worked into the ball-scene. And 
here, too, the beautiful picture-books will suggest fea- 
tures of costume and scenery. 

(2) Dramatization may develop boldness in a child. 
The tendency is to use children with good dramatic 
ability continually for leading parts, even when the 



142 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

children choose the parts. This fault may be counter- 
acted by distinguishing between work for growth and 
one or two rather carefully prepared plays to be given 
on special occasions. It is also counteracted by look- 
ing well to the social aspect of the play, by introducing 
features such as the song, dance, or game, where all 
have a part, or by adding attractive touches to less 
important parts, so that while a character may still be 
leading it will have no reason to feel over-important. 
This danger is not prominent until after the first grade. 

(3) Dramatization may spoil some selections. Beauti- 
ful descriptions which make a tale^ poetic are not to 
be represented, and without them a tale is cheapened. 
Such is the case with The King of the Golden River and 
The Ugly Duckling. Care should be exercised to choose 
for dramatization only what is essentially dramatic 
and what is of a grade suited to the child. Tales suited 
to the little child are largely suited for dramatization. 

(4) Dramatization has omitted to preserve a sequence 
in the selections used from year to year. A sequence in 
dramatization will follow naturally as the tales offered 
from year to year show a sequence in the variety of 
interests they present and the opportunities for growth 
and activity they offer. Plays most suited to the kin- 
dergarten are those which do not require a complete 
re-telling of the story in the acting, so that the child 
need not say so much. Such are stories like The 
Old Woman and Her Pig, Henny Penny, The Fool- 
ish Timid Rabhity Little Tuppen, Three Billy-Goats, 



THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 143 

Johnny CakCy and Billy Bobtail. When the course of 
literature in the elementary school gets its content 
organized, the sequence of dramatization will take care 
of itself. 

Dramatization has one rather unusual virtue: — 
(1) Dramatization may he used to establish a good 
habit. An indolent child may be given the part of the 
industrious child in the play. At first the incongruity 
will amuse him, then it will support his self-respect or 
please his vanity, then it will prove to him the pleasure 
of being industrious, and finally stimulate the desire to 
be that which before he was not. It may build a habit 
and, if repeated, fortify one. This is the true "Direct 
Moral Method." The so-called ** Direct Moral 
Method," advocated by Dr. Gould, an English educa- 
tor, which in telling a story separates the moral from 
the tale to emphasize it and talk about it, leaves the 
child a passive listener with only a chance to say " Yes" 
or "No" or a single word in answer to the moral ques- 
tions. It is unnatural because it directs the child's at- 
tention away from the situation, action, and people 
which interest him. It does not parallel life in which 
morals are tied up with conduct. One must ask, " Ac- 
cording to this method what will the child recall if his 
mind reverts to the story — courage, or the variety of 
images from the number of short-stories told to im- 
press the abstract moral idea of courage? " Dramati- 
zation like life represents character in the making and 
therefore helps to make character. 



144 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

Illustrations of creative return. Let us look now at a 
few tales illustrating the creative return possible to the 
child. The Country Mouse and the City Mouse is an 
animal tale that offers to the kindergarten child a 
chance to prove how intensely he enters into the situa- 
tion by the number of details he will improvise and 
put into his dramatization in representing life in the 
country and life in the city. The good feast atmos- 
phere in this tale pleases little children and suits it to 
their powers. It is a fine tale to unite the language ex- 
pression and dramatization. It is especially suited to 
call forth reaction from the child also in the form of 
drawing or crayon sketching. Here it is best for the 
child to attempt typical bits. Complete representation 
tires him and it is not the method of art, which is selec- 
tive. The field of corn and two mice may be shown in 
the country scene; and a table with cheese, some 
plates filled with dainties, and two mice in the city 
scene. Here again this return relates itself to the pres- 
entation of the tale as literature. For if the story has 
been presented so as to make the characters, the plot, 
and the setting stand out, the child naturally will se- 
lect these to portray in a sketch. In his expression the 
child will represent what he chooses, but the teacher 
by selecting from among the results the one which is of 
most value, leads him to a better result in a following 
attempt. It is the teacher^ s selection among the results 
of activity that brings about development. Freedom 
with guidance is no less free, but it is freedom under 



THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 145 

that stimulation which helps the child to make more 
of himself than he knew was possible. — The kinder- 
garten would proclaim to the Montessori System the 
place of guidance of freedom in the child's growth. 

The Elves and the Shoemaker offers to a first grade a 
pleasing opportunity for the fairy tale to unite with the 
dramatic game. One child may act as narrator, stand- 
ing to tell the story from the beginning to the end of 
the evening's conversation, *^ I should like to sit up to- 
night and see who it is that makes the shoes." At this 
point, noiselessly a dozen or more Elves may troop in, 
and seating themselves sing and act the first part of 
the Dramatic Game of Little Elves, one form of which is 
given by Miss Crawford. After they have stitched, 
rapped, and tapped quickly, and the shoes are made, 
they depart hurriedly. The narrator now continues 
the story, telling how the Shoemaker and his wife made 
little clothes for the Elves, ending with what happened 
on Christmas Eve, when they put the gay jackets and 
caps on the table and hid in the corner to watch. At 
this point the Elves come in a second time, donning 
their new clothes; and sing and dance the second part 
of the dramatic game. As they dance out of sight the 
narrator concludes the story. If the primary children 
made these clothes or if the kindergarten children 
bought them at Christmas time to give to the poor, the 
play^ would take on a real human value. 

* Little Tvx)-Eyes and Snow White are tales also suited to the first 
grade for dramatization. See Appendix. 



146 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

Sleeping Beauty, another tale suited to the first 
grade, is admirably adapted for dramatization. — In 
all this work the children do the planning but the 
teacher directs their impulses, criticizes their plans, 
and shows them what they have done. She leads them 
to see the tale in the correct acts and scenes, to put to- 
gether what belongs together. Sleeping Beauty natu- 
rally outlines itself into the ten main incidents we 
have noted before. If the story has been presented 
according to the standards given here, the children 
will see the story in those main incidents. In the 
dramatization they might work together narration of 
the story and the dramatic game, Dornroschen. A 
wide circle of children might be the chorus while the 
players take their places in the center of the circle. 
The narrator, one of the circle, stands apart from it as 
he narrates. The version here used is the McLoughlin 
one, illustrated by Johann and Leinweber. 

Sleeping Beauty 

Place: Castle. King, Queen, and courtiers take their places 
within the circle. The circle moves to waltz step, singing 
stanza 1, of the dramatic game: — 

The Princess was so beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, etc. 

At the conclusion of stanza 1, the circle stops, the narrator 
steps forth and tells the story to the end of the words, "one 
had to stay at home." 

Scene i. The Feast. Twelve fairies enter, each presenting 
her gift and making a speech. The wicked thirteenth comes 
in and pronounces her curse, and the twelfth fairy softens it 
to sleep. The King proclaims his decree, that all spindles in 
the land be destroyed. 



THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 147 

Scene ii. The Attic. Princess goes to the attic. Old lady- 
sits spinning. Princess pricks herself and falls asleep. Narra- 
tion begins with "The King and Queen who had just come in 
fell asleep," and ends with "not a leaf rustled on the trees 
around the castle." At the close of the narration, the circle 
moves, singing stanza 5 of the dramatic game : — 

A great hedge grew up giant high, giant high, giant high, etc. 

Scene Hi. The Castle Grounds. The Prince talks to an old 
Man outside the castle. The Prince comes to the hedge, 
which parts, and he enters. The Prince wakens the Princess 
and the rest of the castle. The narrator then closes with "By 
and by the wedding of the Prince ... to the end of their 
lives they lived happy and contented." The courtiers then 
form into couples, and the circle, in couples, follow the cour- 
tiers. The Prince and Princess lead in a slow waltz while all 
sing stanza 10 of the dramatic game: — 

And all the people made merry then, merry then, merry then, etc. 

Here we do not have complete dramatization, nar- 
ration, or dramatic game. Only three short parts are 
narrated, only three leading scenes are represented, 
and only three high points of narrative are depicted in 
the dramatic game. The music, which the specialist in 
physical education can furnish, might be : — 

Galloping Wild Horseman. 

Fairy Run Chalef Book, p. 18. 

Climbing to Tower . . . Chaly, p. 10. 
Guy Walk Music. 

Phyllis Seymour Smith. 

Bleking Folk-Dance Book. 

In connection with the dramatic gamey there is only 
one tale in Grimm which contains a folk-game. This 
tale is somewhat incomplete as it stands in Grimm. It 
could become a tale suited for dramatization in the 



148 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

first grade, beginning the play with the folk-game. An 
original, amplified version of this tale. The Little Lamb 
and the Little Fish is given in the Appendix, 

An original little play similar to one which the kin- 
dergarten children could work out is given below. 
This play is based on the pourquois tale. Why the 
Evergreen Trees Never Lose Their Leaves. "^ It affords 
much play of originality because familiar trees may be 
used; and the talk of the Trees to the Bird may have 
some relation to the characteristics of the Trees. It 
could be used by children of six, seven, or eight years 
of age. It could serve as a Christmas play because of 
its spirit of kindness. North Wind might wear a wig 
and the Frost King wear a crown and carry a wand. 
Little Bird could have wings, one of which is broken, 
or simply carry one arm sleeveless. 

The play might open with a rhythmic flight of the 
birds to the music of " The Swallow's Flight," in Kin- 
dergarten Review y May, 1915. The rhythm play of the 
birds would be especially pleasing because different 
birds would be represented by different children. The 
play would furnish a fine opportunity also for a rhyth- 
mic dance of the wind, which could form a distinct in- 
terlude later on in the play. In connection with the 
wind the beautiful picture-book, Windschen, by Elsa 

1 A similar tale is told by Miss Holbrook in The Booh of Nature 
Myths. Also by Mary McDowell as " The Three Little Christmas 
Trees." A simple version of this tale, " The Three Little Christmas 
Trees that Grew on the Hill," is given in The Story-Teller's Book 
by Alice O'Grady and Frances Throop. 



THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 149 

Beskow, might be referred to. Here the wind is per- 
sonified as the playmate of Hans Georg. Its refined 
art, lovely color, and imaginative illustration, would 
stimulate the child's artistic representation of the wind. 

The Bird and the Trees: A Play 

Time Daytime, in late autumn. 

Place The Forest. 

Characters: Poplar, Oak, Maple, Willow, Spruce, Pine, 
Juniper, the Bird, North Wind, and the Frost 
King. 

Trees of the forest. " See that great crowd of birds flying 
away! They must be going South where the air is warm, and 
where they can find berries to eat. There is one left behind. 
Why, he is coming this way. What can he want? " 

The Bird. " Oh, I can fly no farther! My wing hurts 
and I cannot hold it up. I am tired and cold and hungry. I 
must rest in this forest. Maybe some good kind tree will help 
me. Dear friend Poplar, my wing is broken and my friends 
have all gone South. Will you let me live in your branches 
until they come back again .^^ " 

Poplar. " I am sorry but do you not see how my leaves 
are all a- tremble at the thought of taking in a strange bird.? 
Ask some other tree! " 

The Bird. " It might not be very warm there at any rate. 
And the wind might blow me off the branches. I will try the 
Oak, he is so big and mighty. Dear old Oak-tree, you are 
so big and strong, will you let me rest in your branches to- 
night among your thick warm leaves .^^ I am a poor little Bird 
with a broken wing and I cannot fly! " 

Oak. " Oh, you must not ask me, little Bird, for all day 
long my little friends, the squirrels, have been jumping 
across my branches, gathering nuts and seeking holes to 
store their acorns in. I have no room for a stranger." 

The Bird. *' Ah! I did not think the Oak could be so 
cruel. Perhaps Maple will help me, she always seemed kind 
like a Mother. Dear, beautiful Maple, I am tired. May I 



150 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

rest among your lovely red leaves until my broken wing is 
mended and my friends come back to me? " 

Maple. " Oh, no, I could not think of it! I have just 
dressed my leaves all in red and you might spoil their lovely 
clothes. Do go away. There are other trees in the forest not 
so gay as I." 

The Bird. " What should I do? No one wants to help 
me. Can I not find one kind tree? Dear kind Willow, your 
branches bend almost to the ground. Could I live in them 
until the spring-time? " 

Willow. " Really, little Bird with the broken wing, you 
are a stranger. You should have gone with the other birds. 
Maybe some other tree can help you but we willows are 
particular." 

The Bird. " I do not know where to go and I 'm so cold! 
I wonder if the other birds have reached the beautiful warm 
South." 

Spruce. " Little Bird, httle Bird, where are you going? " 

The Bird. " I do not know. I am very cold." 

Spruce. " Come, make a big hop and rest in this snug 
corner of my branches. You can stay with me all winter if 
you like." 

The Bird. " You are so good, dear Spruce-tree. Will you 
really let me? " 

Spruce. " If your friends the birds have left you, your 
other friends, the trees, will surely help you. Ho, Pine-tree, 
you would help a little Bird with a broken wing, would n't 
you? " 

Pine. " Oh, yes, dear Bird! My branches are not wide but 
I am tall and thick, and I will keep the cold North Wind from 
you." 

Juniper. ** And maybe I can help. Are you hungry, little 
Bird? You can eat my nice little berries whenever you like." 

The Bird. " Thank you, kind friends! I will go to sleep 
now on this nice branch of the Spruce-tree. Good-night, dear 
Trees." 

Spruce, Pine, and Juniper. " Good-night, little Bird." 

North Wind. " Oo, — Oo! — Now I must run in and out 
among all the trees of the forest. — But who comes here? " 



THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 151 

Frost King. *' Stop, North Wind ! I have just gone before 
you, as King Winter said, and touched the trees of the forest. 
But the trees that have been kind to the Bird with the 
broken wing, those I did not touch. They shall keep their 
leaves. Do not you harm them! " 

North Wind. " Very well, King Frost. Good-bye! Oo! — 
Oo! — (The Wind frolics among the Trees, bending branches, 
careering wildly, shaking leaves.) " Little Spruce-tree, you 
have been kind to the Bird, I will not blow on you! Dear 
Pine-tree, you are tall and keep the Bird warm, I will not 
blow on you! Little Juniper, you gave the Bird your ber- 
ries, I will not blow on you! " 

{The following morning.) 

The Bird. " Good-morning, dear Spruce-tree, your branch 
was warm and safe. — Why, what has happened to the other 
Trees .^ Look at the big Oak and the lovely Maple and all 
the rest! See how bare their branches are; and on the ground 
their shining leaves lie in red and yellow and brown heaps! 
O, how glad I am that your leaves have not fallen; they 
are bright and green! And so are Pine-tree's and Juniper's. 
I will call you my Evergreen Trees, and I will stay with you 
until the Spring! " 

The English fairy tale, The Magpie's Nest, told by 
Joseph Jacobs, might be dramatized by first-grade 
children. This tale might offer the problem of observ- 
ing how different birds make their nests and how they 
vary their calls. It also might offer the language prob- 
lem of making suitable rhymes. An original dramati- 
zation of the pourquois tale is given in the Appendix, 

Andersen's Fir Tree would offer a fine opportunity 
for a first grade at Christmas time. The fir tree has be- 
come vitally interesting through nature study at this 
time of the year. The children love to make things to 
decorate a tree. They have a short list of stories they 



152 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

can tell by this time. All this can be utilized in a Christ- 
mas tree play. — For the play use the original story, 
not a weakened version. — A pleasant Christmas play 
could end most happily with the story-telling under 
the tree. For the play an actual small fir tree may be 
in the room placed so that it may be moved easily. A 
child standing closely behind it may represent it and 
speak for it through its branches. The air and the sun, 
ordinarily not to be represented, in this case may be, 
as they come up to the Tree and talk to it. Much free- 
dom of originality may be displayed through the chil- 
dren's entering into the character of the Fir Tree and 
improvising speeches. 

The Fir Tree 

Time Spring. 

Place Forest. 

Characters: Sun, Air, Hare, Woodmen, Swallow, Stork, 
Sparrows, Children, Servants, and Fir Tree. 

Act I, Scene i. A Fir Tree in the forest. 

Sun and Air talk to it. 

Children sit under its branches. 

A Hare comes and jumps over it. 

Woodcutters come. 

A Swallow comes and talks to it. 

A Stork comes and talks to it. 

Sparrows talk to it. 

(Have the Tree removed. Apparently from a cart outside 
the door, a larger Christmas Tree may be brought in and 
planted in a sand-box by two servants, students from gram- 
mar grades. The same child now grown older, represents the 
Tree.) 

Act II, Scene i. The Fir Tree brought into the room. 

The decorating of the Tree by the Children and Teacher. 

Talk of the Children about the Tree when decorating it. 



THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 153 

Singing of Christmas carols; dancing of folk-dances; or 
recitation of Christmas poems, after the decoration of the 
Tree. 

The distribution of gifts by the Children. An audience to 
whom the Children wanted to give presents, could be invited. 

The Story-telling under the Tree. 

The presence of visiting children would create an 
audience for the story-telling. The selection of the 
story-teller and the story or stories might be the result 
of a previous story contest. The contest and the story- 
telling under the Tree would be ideal drill situations. 
The entire play would serve as a fine unification of the 
child's work in nature, in construction, in physical 
education, in music, in composition, and in literature. 
Everything he does in the play will be full of vital in- 
terest to him; and his daily tasks will seem of more 
worth to him when he sees how he can use them with 
so much pleasure to himself and to others. This play is 
an example of the organizing of ideas which a good tale 
may exercise in the mind of the child and the part the 
tale as an organized experience may play in his devel- 
opment. 

The creative return desired by the teacher, as well 
as the choice of tales for particular purposes, will de- 
pend largely on the controlling ideas in the program. 
It must be remembered that the child of to-day is not 
bookish nor especially literary; and he has increasing 
life interests. In the ordinary school year, work natu- 
rally divides itself into the main season festivals. While 
story work is here presented in its separate elements, 



154 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

any teacher realizes the possibility of making the story 
work lead up to and culminate in the Thanksgiving, 
Christmas, Easter, or May Festival. Because the 
good story bears a close relation to nature and to 
human life, any good course of stories will offer to the 
teacher ample freedom of choice for any natural school 
purpose. The good tale always gains by being placed 
in a situation where it assists in carrying out a larger 
idea. When the tale is one unit of a festival program it 
appeals to the child as a unit in his everyday life, it be- 
comes socially organized for him. 

REFERENCES 
English 

Baker, F. T.; Carpenter, G. R.; and Scott, F. N.: The 

Teaching of English. Longmans. 
Chubb, Percival: The Teaching of English. Macmillan. 

Story-Telling 

Bailey, Carolyn: For the Story Teller. Bradley. 

Bryant, Sara C. : How to Tell Stories to Children. 

Houghton. 

Ibid. : Stories to Tell. Houghton. 
Buckland, Anna: Use of Stories in the Kindergarten. 

Steiger. 
Coe, F. E.: First Book of Stories for the Story-teller. 

Houghton. 
Hotchkiss, Mary T. : " Story-telling in the Kindergarten." 

N.E. A. Report, 1893. 
Keyes, Angela: Stories and Story-Telling. Appleton. 
Lyman, Edna: Story-Telling. McClurg. 
McMurry, Charles: Special Method in Primary Reading. 

Macmillan. 



THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 155 

O'Grady, Alice (Moulton), and Throop, Frances: The 
Story-Teller's Book. Rand. 

Olcott, F. J.: " Story-Telling as a Means of Teaching Lit- 
erature." N.Y. Libraries; vol. 4, pp. 38-43. Feb., 
1914. 

Olcott, Frances, and Pendleton, Amena: The Jolly Book 
for Boys and Girls. Houghton. 

Partridge, E. N., and Partridge, G. E.: Story-Telling in 
School and Home. Sturgis. 

St. John, Edward: Stories and Story-Telling. Westmin- 
ster Press, Phila. 

Shedlock, Marie: Art of the Story Teller. Appleton. 

Speare, Georgina: "Story-Telling as an Art." Kinder- 
garten Review, Dec, 1913, to May, 1914. 

The Storyteller's Company: The Storyteller's Magazine. 
New York. 

The Voice 

Corson, Hiram: Voice and Spiritual Education. Mac- 

millan. 
Curry, Samuel S.: Foundations of Expression. Expression 

Co. 

Ibid. : Province of Expression: Expression Co. 
Rush, James: The Philosophy of the Human Voice. Lip- 

pincott. 
Quintilian, Marcus F. : Institutes of Oratory. Macmillan. 

Gesture and Phonetics 

Chamberlain, W. B., and Clark, S. H.: Principles of Vocal 

Expression. Scott. 
Jespersen, Otto: Growth and Structure of the English Lan- 
guage. Stechert. 
Jones, Daniel: Pronunciation of English; Phonetics and 
Phonetic Transcriptions. Putnam. 

Ibid. : Chart of English Speech Sounds. Oxford. 
Rippman, Walter: Elements of Phonetics, English, French, 
and German. Dent. 

Ibid. : The Sounds of Spoken English. Dent. 
Sweet, Henry : Primer of Phonetics. Oxford. 



156 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

The Kindergarten 

Blow, Susan; Hill, Patty; and Harrison, Elizabeth: The 
Kindergarten. Houghton. 

Blow, Susan: "The Kindergarten and the Primary 
Grade." Kindergarten Review, June, 1915. 

Crawford, Caroline: "The Teaching of Dramatic Arts 
in the Kindergarten and the Elementary School." 
Teachers College Record, Sept., 1915. 

McMurry, Frank M. : " Principles Underlying the Mak- 
ing of School Curricula." Teachers College Record^ 
Sept., 1915. 

Palmer, Luella: " Montessori Suggestions for Kindergart- 
ners." Kindergarten Review, Feb. 1915. 
Ibid. : "Problems vs. Subject Matter as a Basis for Kin- 
dergarten Curriculum." Kindergarten Review, 
Nov., 1914. 

Teachers College Record: " Experimental Studies in Kin- 
dergarten Education." Teachers College Record, Jan., 
1914. 

Thorndike, Edward L. : " Foundations of Educational 
Achievement." N. E. A. Report, 1914. 

The Return 

Archer, William: Play-Making. Small. 

Bailey, Carolyn: "Toy Stories." "The Story of the 

Woolly Dog." Kindergarten Review, Feb., 1915. 
Baker, Franklin T., and Thorndike, Ashley H.: Everyday 

English. Book One. Macmillan. 
Barnes, Earl: Studies in Education. Drawing. Barnes. 
Buffum, Katherine: Silhouettes to Cut in School. Bradley. 
Crawford, Caroline: Dramatic Games and Dances. Barnes. 
Folk Dances and Games. Barnes. 
The Rhythms of Childhood. Barnes. 
Curry, S. S. : Imagination and the Dramatic Instinct. Ex- 
pression Co. 
Dewey, John: The Child and the Curriculum. University 
of Chicago. 

Ibid. : " Imagination and Expression." Kindergarten 
Magazine, Sept., 1896. 



THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 157 

Dow, Arthur: ** Color in the Kindergarten." Kindergarten 
Review, June, 1914. 

Ibid.: Composition. Doubleday. 
Harvey, Nellie: "Japanese Art in the Kindergarten." 

Kindergarten Review, Dec., 1914. 
Hervey, Walter: Picture Work. Revell. 
Laurie, S. S. : Lectures on Language and Linguistic Method 

in the School. Macmillan. 
Macintosh, C: " Toys Made by Little Children." Kin- 
dergarten Review, Jan., and Feb., 1914. 
Maxwell, W. H.; Johnston, E. L.; and Barnum, M.; 

Speaking and Writing. American Book Co. 
Oppenheimer, Carol: Drawing. Kindergarten Review^ 
March, 1914. 

Ibid. : " Scissors and Paper." Kindergarten Review y 

Jan., 1914. 
Ibid.: Suggestions Concerning Rhythm Plays." Kin- 
dergarten Review, April and May, 1915. 
Ibid.: "The Use of the Song Exercise." Kindergarten 
Review, May, 1914. 
Parker School: Francis W. Parker Year-Book, vol. iii, 
June, 1914. (" Expression as a Means of Developing 
Motives.") Francis Parker School, Chicago. 
Psychological Review: Monograph — "Development of 
Imagination in School Children." Suppl. Psych. Re- 
view, vol. XI, no. 1, 1909. 
Wagner, Carrie: " Furniture for the Doll House." Kin- 
dergarten Review, Dec, 1914. 
Worst, E. F.; Barber, H.; and Seymour, M.: Constructive 

Work. Mumford. 
Zook, Mabel; and Maloy, Regina: " Illustrated Stories." 
Kindergarten Review, May, 1915. 



CHAPTER IV 



THE HISTORY OF FAIRY TALES 

The gods of ancient mythology were changed into the demi-gods 
and heroes of ancient poetry, and these demi-gods again became, at 
a later age, the principal characters of our nursery tales. — Max 

MtJLLER. ^ 

Stories originally told about the characters of savage tales, were 
finally attracted into the legends of the gods of ancient mythology, 
or were attributed to demi-gods and heroes. — Andrew Lang. 



I. THE ORIGIN OF FAIRY TALES 

Now that we have indicated the worth of fairy tales, 
have observed those principles which should guide the 
teacher in choosing and in interpreting a tale, and 
have stated those rules which should govern the 
story-teller in the telling of the tale, we may well ask a 
few further questions concerning the nature of these 
fairy tales. What is a fairy tale and whence did it 
come, and how are we to find its beginning? Having 
found it, how are we to follow it down through the 
ages? How shall it be classed, what are the available 
types which seek to include it and show its nature? 
And lastly, what are the books which are to be the 
main practical sources of fairy tales for the teacher of 
little children? The remaining pages attempt to give 
some help to the teacher who wishes to increase her 
resources with an intelligent knowledge of the material 
she is handling. 



THE HISTORY OF FAIRY TALES 159 

Many times the question, " What is a fairy tale? " 
has been asked. One has said: " The fairy tale is a 
poetic presentation of a spiritual truth.'* George 
MacDonald has answered: '* Undine is a fairy tale." 
Mr. G. K. Chesterton has said: " A fairy tale is a tale 
told in a morbid age to the only remaining sane person, 
a child. A legend is a fairy tale told to men when men 
were sane." Some, scorning to reply, have treated the 
question as one similar to, ** What poem do you con- 
sider best in the English language? " As there are 
many tales included here which do not contain a fairy, 
fairy tales here are taken to include tales which con- 
tain something fairy or extraordinary, the magic or 
the marvelous — fairies, elves, or trolls, speaking ani- 
mals, trees, or a talkative Tin Soldier. The Myth 
proper and the Fable are both excluded here, while the 
pourquois tale, a myth development, and the Beast 
tale, a short-story fable development, are both in- 
cluded. 

The origin of the word " fairy," as given by Thomas 
Keightley in his Fairy Mythology, and later in the Ap- 
pendix of his Tales and Popular Fictions, is the Latin 
fatum, " to enchant." The word was derived directly 
from the French form of the root. The various forms 
of the root were : — 

Latin fatum, " to enchant." 

French feeyfeericy " illusion." 

Italian fata. 

Provencal .... fada. 



160 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

In old French romance, jee was a " woman skilled in 
magic.'* ** All those women were called Fays who had 
to do with enchantment and charms and knew the 
power and virtue of words, of stones, and of herbs, 
by which they were kept in youth and in great beauty 
and in great riches." This was true also of the Italian 

The word " fairy *^ was used in four senses. Fairy 
represented : — 

(1) Illusion, or enchantment. 

(2) Abode of the Faes, the country of the Fays. 

(3) Inhabitants collectively, the people of Fairy- 

land. 

(4) The individual in Fairyland, the fairy Knight, 

or Elf. 
The word was used in the fourth sense before the time 
of Chaucer. After the appearance of Spenser's Faerie 
Queene distinctions became confused, and the name of 
the real fairies was transferred to ** the little beings 
who made the green, sour ringlets whereof the ewe not 
bites." The change adopted by the poets gained cur- 
rency among the people. Fairies were identified with 
nymphs and elves. Shakespeare was the principal 
means of effecting this revolution, and in his Midsum- 
mer Nighfs Dream he has incorporated most of the 
fairy lore known in England at his time. But the tales 
are older than their name. 

The origin of fairy tales is a question which has kept 
many very able scholars busy and which has not yet 



THE HISTORY OF FAIRY TALES 161 

been settled to the satisfaction of many. What has 
been discovered resolves itself mainly into four differ- 
ent origins of fairy tales : — 

I. Fairy tales are detritus of myth, surviving echoes 
of gods and heroes 

Against this theory it may be said that, when popu- 
lar tales have incidents similar to Greek heroic myths, 
the tales are not detritus of myth, but both have a 
more ancient tale as their original source. There 
was: — 

(1) A popular tale which reflected the condition of a 
rude people, a tale full of the monstrous and the mir- 
aculous. 

(2) The same tale, a series of incidents and plot, 
with the monstrous element modified, which survived 
in the oral traditions of illiterate peasantry. 

(3) The same plot and incidents, as they existed in 
heroic epics of cultivated people. A local and historical 
character was given by the introduction of known 
places and native heroes. Tone and manners were re- 
fined by literary workmanship, in the Rig Veda, the 
Persian King-book, the Homeric Epics, etc. 

The Grimms noted that the evolution of the tale 
was from a strongly marked, even ugly, but highly ex- 
pressive form of its earlier stages, to that which pos- 
sessed external beauty of mold. The origin is in the 
fancy of a primitive people, the survival is through 
Mdrchen of peasantry, and the transfiguration into 



163 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

epics is by literary artists. Therefore, one and the 
same tale may be the source of Perrault's Sleeping 
Beauty, also of a Greek myth, and also of an old tale of 
illiterate peasantry. This was the opinion held by 
Lang, who said, " For the roots of stories, we must 
look, not in the clouds but upon the earth, not in the 
various aspects of nature but in the daily occurrences 
and surroundings, in the current opinions and ideas of 
savage life.*' 

In the savage Mdrchen of to-day, the ideas and inci- 
dents are the inevitable result of the mental habits and 
beliefs of savages. We gain an idea of the savage 
mind through Leviticus, in the Bible, through Herodo- 
tus, Greek and Roman geographers, Aristotle, Plu- 
tarch, Pliny, etc., through voyagers, missionaries, and 
travelers, and through present savage peoples. Savage 
existence is based on two great institutions : — 

(a) The division of society into clans. — Marriage 
laws depend on the conception that these clans de- 
scend from certain plants, animals, or inorganic ob- 
jects. There was the belief in human descent from 
animals and kinship and personal intercourse with 
them. 

(b) Belief in magic and medicine-men, which re- 
sulted in powers of metamorphosis, the effect of incan- 
tation, and communion with the dead. — To the sav- 
age all nature was animated, all things were persons. 
The leading ideas of savage peoples have already been 
referred to in the list of motifs which appear in the dif- 



THE HISTORY OF FAIRY TALES 163 

ferent fairy tales, as given by Lang, mentioned under 
the " Preparation of the Teacher," in The Telling of 
the Tale. 

II. Fairy tales are myths of Sun, Dawn, Thunder, 
Rain, etc. 

This is sometimes called the Sun-Myth Theory or 
the Aryan Theory, and it is the one advocated by Max 
Miiller and by Grimm. 

The fairy tales were primitive man's experience 
with nature in days when he could not distinguish 
between nature and his own personality, when there 
was no supernatural because everything was endowed 
with a personal life. They were the poetic fancies of 
light and dark, cloud and rain, day and night; and 
underneath them were the same fanciful meanings. 
These became changed by time, circumstances in dif- 
ferent countries, and the fancy of the tellers, so that 
they became sunny and many-colored in the South, 
sterner and wilder in the North, and more home-like 
in the Middle and West. To the Bushmen the wind 
was a bird, and to the Egyptian fire was a living beast. 
Even The Song of Six-Pence has been explained as a 
nature-myth, the pie being the earth and sky, the 
birds the twenty-four hours, the king the sun, the 
queen the moon, and the opening of the pie, day- 
break. 

Every word or phrase became a new story as soon as 
the first meaning of the original name was lost. An- 



164 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

drew Lang tells how Kephalos the sun loved Prokris 
the dew, and slew her by his arrows. Then when the 
first meaning of the names for sun, dew, and rays was 
lost, Kephalos, a shepherd, loved Prokris, a nymph, 
and we have a second tale which, by a folk-etymology, 
became the Story of Apolloy the Wolf. Tales were told 
of the sun under his frog name; later people forgot that 
frog meant " sun," and the result was the popular tale, 
A Frog, He Would A-Wooing Go. 

In regard to this theory, " It is well to remember," 
says Tylor in his Primitive Culture, " that rash infer- 
ences which, on the strength of mere resemblances, 
derive episodes of myth from episodes of nature, must 
be regarded with utter distrust; for the student v/ho 
has no more stringent criterion than this for his myths 
of sun and sky and dawn will find them wherever it 
pleases him to seek them." There is a danger of being 
carried away by false analogies. But all scholars agree 
that some tales are evidently myths of sun and dawn. 
If we examine Jhe natural history of savages, we do 
find summer feasts, winter feasts, rituals of sorrow for 
the going of summer and of rejoicing for its return, 
anxious interest in the sun, interest in the motion of 
the heavenly bodies, the custom of naming men and 
women from the phenomena of nature, and interest in 
making love, making war, making fun, and making 
dinner. 



THE HISTORY OF FAIRY TALES 165 

III. Fairy tales all arose in India, they are part of the 
common Aryan heritage and are to be traced by 
the remains of their language 

They were first written in the VedaSy the sacred 
Sanskrit books of Buddhism. This theory is some- 
what aUied to the Sun-Myth Theory. This theory 
was followed by Max MuUer and by Sir George Cox. 

The theory of a common source in India will not 
answer entirely for the origin of tales because many 
similar tales have existed in non-Aryan countries. 
Old tales were current in Egypt, 2000 B.C., and were 
brought from there by Crusaders, Mongol missiona- 
ries, the Hebrews, and Gypsies. 

The idea of connecting a number of disconnected 
stories, as we find in Arabian Nights^ The Canterbury 
Tales, and the Decameron^ is traced to the idea of 
making Buddha the central figure in the folk-literature 
of India. And Jacobs says that at least one-third of all 
the stories common to the children of Europe are de- 
rived from India, and by far the majority of the drolls. 
He also says that generally, so far as incidents are 
marvelous and of true fairy-like character, India is the 
probable source, because of the vitality of animism 
and transformation in India in all time. Moreover, as 
a people, the Hindus had spread among their numbers 
enough literary training and mental grip to invent 
plots. 

And again, there is an accepted connection in myth 



166 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

and language between all Aryan languages and San- 
skrit. According to Sir George Dasent, " The whole 
human race has sprung from one stock planted in the 
East, which has stretched its boughs and branches 
laden with the fruit of language and bright with the 
bloom of song and story, by successive offshoots to the 
utmost parts of the earth." Dasent tells how the Ary- 
ans who went west, who went out to do, were distin- 
guished from the nations of the world by their com- 
mon sense, by their power of adapting themselves to 
circumstances, by making the best of their position, by 
being ready to receive impressions, and by being able 
to develop impressions. They became the Greeks, the 
Latins, the Teutons, the Celts, and the Slavonians. 
The Aryans who stayed at home, remained to reflect, 
and were distinguished by their power of thought. 
They became a nation of philosophers and gave to the 
world the Sanskrit language as the basis of compara- 
tive philology. Dasent shows how legends, such as the 
Story of William Tell and Dog Gellert, which have ap- 
peared in many Aryan peoples were common in germ 
to the Aryan tribes before migration. Joseph Jacobs 
has more recently settled the travels of Gellert, tracing 
its literary route from the Indian Vinaya Pitaka, 
through the Fables of Bidpai, Sindibad, Seven Sages of 
Rome, Gesta Romanorum, and the Welsh Fables of 
Cottwg, until the legend became localized in Wales. 



THE HISTORY OF FAIRY TALES 167 

IV. Fairy tales owe their origin to the identity of 
early fancy 

Just as an individual, after thinking along certain 
lines, is surprised to come upon the exact sequence of 
his thought in a book he had never seen, so primitive 
peoples in remote parts of the world, up against similar 
situations, would express experience in tales containing 
similar motifs. A limited set of experiences was pre- 
sented to the inventive faculty, and the limited com- 
binations possible would result in similar combina- 
tions. The Aryan Jackal, the Mediaeval Reynard, 
the Southern Brer Rabbit, and the Weasel of Africa, 
are near relations. Dasent said, " In all mythology 
and tradition there are natural resemblances, paral- 
lelisms, suggested to the senses of each race by natural 
objects and everyday events; and these might spring 
up spontaneously all over the earth as home-growths, 
neither derived by imitation from other tribes, nor 
from the tradition of a common stock." 

It is probable that all four theories of the origin of 
fairy tales are correct and that fairy tales owe their 
origin not to any one cause but to all four. 

II. THE TRANSMISSION OF FAIRY TALES 

Oral transmission. The tale, having originated, 
may have been transmitted in many ways : by women 
compelled to marry into alien tribes; by slaves from 
Africa to America; by soldiers returning from the 



168 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

Crusades; by pilgrims returning from the Holy Land 
or from Mecca; by knights gathering at tournaments; 
by sailors and travelers; and by commercial exchange 
between southern Europe and the East — Venice 
trading with Egypt and Spain with Syria. Ancient 
tales of Persia spread along the Mediterranean shores. 
In this way the Moors of Spain learned many a tale 
which they transmitted to the French. Jack the Giant- 
Killer and Thomas Thumb, according to Sir Walter 
Scott, landed in England from the very same keels and 
warships which conveyed Hengist and Horsa and Ebba 
the Saxon. A recent report of the Bureau of Ethnology 
of the Smithsonian Institution of the United States 
expressed the opinion that the Uncle Remus TaleshdiWQ 
an Indian origin. Slaves had associated with Indian 
tribes such as the Cherokees, and had heard the story 
of the Rabbit who was so clever that no one could fool 
him. Gradually the Southern negroes had adopted the 
Indian tales and changed them. Joseph Jacobs claims 
to have found the original of the ** Tar Baby " in the 
Jatalca Tales. A tale, once having originated, could 
travel as easily as the wind. Certainly a good type 
when once hit upon was diffused widely. Sir Walter 
Scott has said: "A work of great interest might be 
compiled from the origin of popular fiction and the 
transmission of similar tales from age to age and from 
country to country. The mythology of one period 
would then appear to pass into the romance of the 
next century, and that into the nursery tales of subse- 



THE HISTORY OF FAIRY TALES 169 

quent ages. Such an investigation would show that 
these fictions, however wild and childish, possess such 
charms for the populace as to enable them to penetrate 
into countries unconnected by manners and language, 
and having no apparent intercourse to afford the 
means of transmission." 

Thomas Keightley, in Tales and Popular Fictions, 
has given interesting examples of the transmission of 
tales. Selecting Jack the Giant- Killer, he has shown 
that it is the same tale as Grimm's The Brave Tailor, 
and Thor's Journey to Utgard in the Scandinavian 
Edda. Similar motifs occur also in a Persian tale, 
Ameen of Isfahan and the Ghool, and in the Goat and the 
Lion, a tale from the Panchatantra. Selecting the Story 
of Dick Whittington he has shown that in England 
it was current in the reign of Elizabeth; that two simi- 
lar tales, Danish legends, were told by Thiele; that a 
similar Italian tale existed at the time of Amerigo 
Vespucci, which was a legend told by Arlotto in 1396- 
1483; that another similar Italian tale was connected 
with the origin of Venice, in 1175; and that a similar 
tale existed in Persia in 1300, before 1360, when 
Whittington of England was born. He also pointed out 
that the Odyssey must have traveled east as well as 
west, from Greece, for Sindbad's adventure with the 
Black Giant is similar to that of Ulysses with the 
Cyclops. 

Another interesting set of parallels shown by him is 
connected with the Pentamerone tale, Peruonto. This 



170 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

is the Straparola Peter the Fooly the Russian Emelyan 
the Fool, the Esthonian tale by Laboulaye, The Fairy 
Craw-Fish, and the Grimm The Fisherman and his 
Wife. The theme of a peasant being rewarded by the 
fish he had thrown back into the water takes on a de- 
lightful varied form in the tale of different countries. 
The magic words of Emelyan, *' Up and away! At the 
pike's command, and at my request, go home, sledge! " 
in each variant take an interesting new form. 

Literary transmission. The travels of a tale through 
oral tradition are to be attempted with great difficulty 
and by only the most careful scholarship. One may 
follow the transmission of tales through literary col- 
lections with somewhat greater ease and exactness. 
Popular tales have a literature of their own. The fol- 
lowing list seeks to mention the most noteworthy col- 
lections : — 

No date. Vedas. Sanskrit. 

No date. Zend Avesta. Persian. 

Fifth century, B.C. Jatakas. Probably the oldest 
literature. It was written at Ceylon and has been 
translated into 38 languages, in 112 editions. Re- 
cently the Cambridge edition has been translated from 
the Pali, edited by E. B. Cowell, published by Put- 
nam, New York, 1895-1907. 

4000 B.C. Tales of Ancient Egypt. These were the 
tales of magicians, recorded on papyrus. 

600 B.C. (about). Homeric Legends. 

200 B.C. (about). Book of Esther. 



THE HISTORY OF FAIRY TALES 171 

Second century, a.d. The Golden Ass, Metamof- 
phases of Apuleius. 

550 A.D. Panchatantra, the Five Books. This was a 
Sanskrit collection of fables, the probable source of the 
Fables of Bidpai. 

Second century, a.d. The Hitopadesa, or Wholesome 
Instruction. A selection from the Panchatantra, first 
edited by Carey, in 1804; by Max Muller, in 1844. 

550 A.D. Panchatantra. Pehlevi version. 

Tenth century, a.d. Panchatantra. Arabic version. 

Eleventh century, a.d. Panchatantra. Greek ver- 
sion. 

Twelfth century, a.d. Panchatantra. Persian ver- 
sion. 

1200 A.D. Sanskrit Tales. These tales were collected 
by Somadeva Bhatta, of Cashmere, and were pub- 
lished to amuse the Queen of Cashmere. They have 
been translated by Brockhaus, 1844. Somadeva's 
Ocean of the Streams of Story has been translated by 
Mr. Tawney, of Calcutta, 1880. 

Tales of the West came from the East in two 
sources : — 

1262-78. (1) Directorium Humance Vitce, of John 
of Capua. This was translated from the Hebrew, from 
the Arabic of the eighth century, from the Pehlevi of 
Persia of the sixth century, from the Panchatantra, 
from the Sanskrit original. This is the same as the 
famous Persian version, The Book of Calila and Dimna, 
attributed to Bidpai, of India. There was a late Per- 



172 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

sian version, in 1494, and one in Paris in 1644, which 
was the source of La Fontaine. 

Thirteenth century. (2) The Story of the Seven 
Sages of Romey or The Book of Sindibad. This ap- 
peared in Europe as the Latin History of the Seven 
Sages of Rome, by Dame Jehans, a monk in the Abbey 
of Haute Selve. There is a Hebrew, an Arabic, and a 
Persian version. It is beheved the Persian version 
came from Sanskrit but the Sanskrit original has not 
yet been found. 

Tenth century. Reynard the Fox. This was first 
found as a Latin product of the monks, in a cloister by 
the banks of the Mosel and Mass. Reynard the Fox 
shares with Msojp's Fables the distinction of being 
folk-lore raised into literature. It is a series of short 
stories of adventure forming a romance. These ver- 
sions are known : — 

1180. German-T^emAar^, an epic of twelve adventures by 
Heinrich Glichesare. 

1230. Yiench-Roman de Renard, with its twenty-seven 
branches. 

1250. YXemish-Reinaerty part of which was composed by 
Willem, near Ghent. 

1148. Ysengrimus, a Latin poem written at Ghent. 

Thirteenth century. Of the Vox and of the Wolf, an Eng- 
lish poem. 

Later date. Rainardo, Italian. 

Later date. Greek mediceval version. 

Reynard the Fox ^ was first printed in England by Caxton in 

* Joseph Jacobs, in his Introduction to the Cranford edition, and 
Ashton, in Chap-Books of the Eighteenth Century, furnish most of the 
facts mentioned here. 



THE HISTORY OF FAIRY TALES 173 

1481, translated from a Dutch copy. A copy of Caxton's book 
is in the British Museum. Caxton's edition was adapted by 
** Felix Summerley "; and Felix Summerley's edition, with 
slight changes, was used by Joseph Jacobs in his Cranford 
edition. 

A Dutch prose romance, Historie von Reynaert de Vos was 
published in 1485. A German copy, written in Lower Saxony 
was published in 1498. A chap-book, somewhat condensed, 
but giving a very good account of the romance, was pub- 
lished in London in 1780, printed and sold in Aldermary 
Churchyard, Bow Lane. This chap-book is very much finer 
in language than many of the others in Ashton's collection. 
Its structure is good, arranged in nine chapters. It shows it- 
self a real classic and would be read with pleasure to-day. 
Goethe's poem, Reineke Fuchs, was published in 1794. This 
version was more refined than previous ones but it lost in 
simplicity. Monographs have been written on Reynard by 
Grimm, Voigt, Martin, and Sudre. 

Raginhard was a man's name, meaning " strong in coun- 
sel," and was common in Germany which bordered on 
France. This name naturally was given to the beast who 
lived by his wits. Grimm considered Reynard the result of a 
Teutonic Beast Epic of primitive origin. Later research has 
exploded this theory and has decided that all versions are 
descended from an original French one existing between 
1150 and 1170. Modern editions have come from the Flem- 
ish version. The literary artist who compiled Reynard took a 
nucleus of fables and added to it folk-tales which are known 
to have existed in the eleventh and twelfth centuries and 
which exist to-day as tradition among some folk. The folk- 
tales included in Reynard are : Reynard and Dame Wolf; The 
Iced Wolfs Tail; The Fishes in the Car; The Bear in the Cleft; 
The Wolf as Bell-Ringer; and The Dyed Fox. The method of 
giving individual names to the animals such as Reynard, 
Bruin, and Tibert, was current among the Folk before a 
literary form was given to Reynard. As this was the custom 
in the province of Lorraine it is supposed that the origin of 
these names was in Lorraine. Other names, such as Chanti- 
cleer, the Cock, and Noble, the Lion, were given because of a 



174 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

quality, and indicate a tendency to allegory. These names 
increase in the later development of the romance. In the 
beginning when the beasts had only personal adventures, 
these were told by the Folk to raise a laugh. Later there was 
a meaning underneath the laugh and the Beast Epic Comedy 
of the Folk grew into the world Beast Satire of the literary 
artist. 

Reynard exhibits the bare struggle for existence which was 
generally characteristic of Feudal life. Cunning opposes 
force and triumphs over it. The adventurous hero appeals 
because of his faculty of adjustmenty his power to adapt him- 
self to circumstances and to master them. He also appeals 
because of his small size when compared with the other ani- 
mals. In the Middle Ages Reynard appealed because it was 
a satire upon the monks. Of Reynard Carlyle has said, " It 
comes before us with a character such as can belong only to 
very few; that of being a true World's Book which through 
centuries was everywhere at home, the spirit of which dif- 
fused itself into all languages and all minds." 

About one tenth of European folk-lore is traced to 
collections used in the Middle Ages : Fables of Bidpai, 
Seven Wise Masters, Gesta Romanorum, and Barlaam 
and Josophat. These tales became diffused through 
the Exempla of the monks, used in their sermons, 
through the Novelle of Italy, the Decameron of Boc- 
caccio, the Tales of Chancery Painter's Palace of Plea- 
sure, and the Elizabethan Drama of England. One half 
of La Fontaine's Fables are of Indian sources. 

1326. The Gesta Romanorum,, written in Latin. 
This was a compilation, by the monks, of stories with 
a moral appended to each. It was the most popular 
story-book before the invention of printing. In Eng- 
land it was printed by Wynkyn de Worde, of which 



THE HISTORY OF FAIRY TALES 175 

edition the only known copy is at St. John's College, 
Cambridge. The earliest manuscript of the collection 
is dated 1326. Between 1600 and 1703 fifteen editions 
of the book prove its popularity. One English version 
is by Sir Frederick Madden, who Hved 1801-73. The 
author of the Gesta Romanorum is unknown, but was 
likely a German. The stories included are miscellane- 
ous and vary in different editions. Among its stories 
are Oriental tales, tales of the deeds of Roman Emper- 
ors, an early form of Guy of Warwick^ the casket epi- 
sode of The Merchant of Venice^ a story of the Jew's 
bond, a tale of the Emperor Theodosius, being a ver- 
sion of King Lear, the story of the Hermit, and a tale 
of Aglas, the daughter of the Roman Emperor Pom- 
pey, being a version of Atalanta and her Race. 

1000 A.D. (about). Shah-Nameh, or King-book of 
Persia, by Ferdousee, born about 940 a.d. This book 
is the pride and glory of Persian literature. It was 
written by the Persian poet at the command of the 
king, who wished to have preserved the old traditions 
and heroic glories of Persians before the Arabian con- 
quest. Ferdousee declared that he invented none of 
his material, but took it from the Bostan-Nameh or 
Old-Book. 

The King-Book is very ancient, it is the Persian Homer. It 
was the labor of thirty years. It consisted of 56,000 distichs 
or couplets, for every thousand of which the Sultan had 
promised the poet one thousand pieces of gold. Instead of 
the elephant-load of gold promised, the Sultan sent in pay- 
ment 60,000 small silver coins. This so enraged the poet that 



176 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

he gave away one third to the man who brought them, one 
third to a seller of refreshments, and one third to the keeper 
of the bath where the messenger found him. After the 
poet's death the insult was retrieved by proper payment. 
This was refused by his one daughter, but accepted by the 
other and used to erect a public dike the poet had always de- 
sired to build to protect his native town from the river. The 
fine character of the tales of the King- Book is shown in the 
tale of Roostem and Soohrab, taken from this book, which 
Keightley has translated in Tales and Popular Fictions, 
Keightley considered it superior to any Greek or Latin tale. 
Modern literature knows this tale through Matthew Arnold's 
poem. 

1548 (not later than). The Thousand and One 
Nights, Arabian. 12 volumes. Galland's French trans- 
lation appeared in 1704. This was supplemented by 
Chavis and Cazotte, and by Caussin de Percival. 
Monsieur Galland was Professor of Arabic in the Royal 
College of Paris. He was a master of French and a 
fairly good scholar of Arabic. He brought his manu- 
script, dated 1548, to Paris from Constantinople. He 
severely abbreviated the original, cutting out poetical 
extracts and improving the somewhat slovenly style. 
In his translation he gave to English the new words, 
genie, ogre, and vizier. His work was very popular. 

Boulak and Calcutta texts are better than the Gal- 
land. They contain about two hundred and fifty 
stories. The Cairo edition has been admirably trans- 
lated by Edward W. Lane, in 3 volumes (1839-41) 
published in London. This is probably the best edi- 
tion. It also omits many poetical quotations. A re- 
cent edition using Lane's translation is by Frances 



THE HISTORY OF FAIRY TALES 177 

Olcott, published by Holt in 1913. Editions which at- 
tempt to be complete versions are by John Payne (13 
volumes, 1882-84), and by Sir Richard Burton (16 
volumes, 1885-88). Lane and Burton give copious 
notes of value. The recent edition by Wiggin and 
Smith used the editions of Scott and Lane. 

The stories in Arabian Nights are Indian, Egyptian, Ara- 
bian, and Persian. Scenes are laid principally in Bagdad 
and Cairo. Lane considered that the one hundred and fifteen 
stories, which are common to all manuscripts, are based on 
the Pehlevi original. The idea of the frame of the story came 
from India. This was the birth of the serial story. There is 
authority for considering the final collection to have been 
made in Egypt. Cairo is described most minutely and the 
customs are of Egypt of the thirteenth century and later. 
The stories must have been popular in Egypt as they were 
mentioned by an historian, 1400-70. Lane considered that 
the final Arabic collection bears to Persian tales the same re- 
lation that the Mneid does to the Odyssey. Life depicted is 
Arabic, and there is an absence of the great Persian heroes. 
Internal evidence assists in dating the work. Coffee is men- 
tioned only three times. As its use became popular in the 
East in the fourteenth century this indicates the date of the 
work to be earlier than the very common use of coffee. Can- 
non, which are mentioned, were known in Egypt in 1383. 
Additions to the original were probably made as late as the 
sixteenth century. The Arabian Nights has been the model 
for many literary attempts to produce the Oriental tale, of 
which the tales of George Meredith are notable examples. 

Thomas Keightley, in Tales and Popular Fictions, con- 
sidered Persia the original country of The Thousand and 
One Nights, and The Voyages of Sinbad, originally a separate 
work. He showed how some of these tales bear marks of 
Persian extraction and how some had made their way to Eu- 
rope through oral transmission before the time of Galland's 
translation. He selected the tale, ** Cleomedes and Clare- 



178 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

mond," and proved that it must have been learned by a cer- 
tain Princess Blanche, of Castile, and transmitted by her to 
France about 1275. This romance must have traveled to 
Spain from the East. It is the same as " The Enchanted 
Horse " in The Thousand and One Nights, and through 
Keightley's proof, is originally Persian. Keightley also se- 
lected the Straparola tale, The Dancing Water, the Singing 
Apple, and the Beautiful Green Bird, and proved it to be the 
same as Grimm's Three Little Birds, as a Persian Arabian 
Night's tale, and also as La Princesse Belle Etoile, of D'Aul- 
noy. But as Gallaud's translation appeared only the year 
after Madame D'Aulnoy's death, Madame D'Aulnoy must 
have obtained the tale elsewhere than from the first printed 
version of Arabian Nights. 

No date. The Thousand and One Days. This is a 
Persian collection containing the " History of Calaf.'* 

1550. Strajparola' s Nights^ by Straparola. This col- 
lection of jests, riddles, and twenty-one stories was 
published in Venice. The stories were taken from oral 
tradition, from the lips of ten young women. Some 
were agreeable, some unfit, so that the book was for- 
bidden in Rome, in 1605, and an abridged edition pre- 
pared. There was a complete Venetian edition in 
1573, a German translation in 1679, a French one in 
1611, and a good German one with valuable notes, by 
Schmidt, in 1817. Straparola's Nights contained sto- 
ries similar to the German The Master Thief, The Lit- 
tle Peasant, Hans and the Hedge-Hog, Iron Hans, The 
Four Brothers, The Two Brothers, and Dr. Know-all. 

1637. The Pentamerone, by Basile. Basile spent his 
early youth in Candia or Crete, which was owned by 
Venice. He traveled much in Italy, following his sister. 



THE HISTORY OF FAIRY TALES 179 

who was a noted singer, to Mantua. He probably- 
died in 1637. There may have been an earUer edition 
of The Pentamerone, which sold out. It was repub- 
lished in Naples in 1645, 1674, 1714, 1722, 1728, 1749, 
1788, and in Rome in 1679. This was the best collec- 
tion of tales formed by a nation for a long time. The 
traditions were complete, and the author had a special 
talent for collecting them, and an intimate knowledge 
of dialect. This collection of fifty stories may be looked 
upon as the basis of many others. Basile wrote inde- 
pendently of Straparola, though a few tales are com- 
mon to both. He was very careful not to alter the tale 
as he took it down from the people. He told his stories 
with allusions to manners and customs, to old stories 
and mythology. He abounds in picturesque, proverb- 
ial expressions, with turns and many similes, and dis- 
plays a delightful exuberance of fancy. A valuable 
translation, with notes, was written by Felix Lie- 
brecht, in 1842, and an English one by John Edward 
Taylor, in 1848. Keightley, in Fairy Mythologyy has 
translated three of these tales and in Tales and Popular 
Fictions, two tales. Keightley 's were the first transla- 
tions of these tales into any language other than Ital- 
ian. Among the stories of Basile are the German Cin- 
derella, How Six got on in the World, Rapunzel, Snow 
White, Dame Holle, Briar Rose, and Hansel and 
Grethel. 

1697. The Tales of Mother Goose, by Charles Per- 
rault. In France the collecting of fairy tales began in 



180 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

the seventeenth century. French, German, and Ital- 
ian tales were all derived independently by oral tradi- 
tion. In 1696, in Recueil, a magazine published by 
Moetjens, at The Hague, appeared The Story of Sleep- 
ing Beauty, by Perrault. In 1697 appeared seven 
other tales by Perrault. Eight stories were published 
in 12mo, under a title borrowed from a fabliau , 
Contes de ma Mere VOye. In a later edition three stor- 
ies were added, The Ass's Skin, The Clever Princess, 
and The Foolish Wishes. The tales of Perrault were: — 

1. The Fairies. 6. Cinderella. 

2. The Sleeping Beauty in 7. Rique with the Tuft. 

the Wood. 8. Little Thumb. 

S. Bluebeard. 9. The Ass's Skin. 

4. Little Red Riding Hood. 10. The Clever Princess. 

5. Puss-in-Boots. 11. The Foolish Wishes. 

Immediately afterwards the tales appeared published 
at Paris in a volume entitled, Histoires ou Contes du 
Temps Passe, avec des Moralites — Contes de ma Mere 
VOye, The earliest translation into English was in a 
book containing French and English, Tales of Passed 
Times, by Mother Goose, with Morals. Written in 
French by M. Charles Perrault and Englished by R. S., 
Gent. An English translation by Mr. Samber was ad- 
vertised in the English Monthly Chronicle, March, 
1729. Andrew Lang, with an introduction, has edited 
these tales from the original edition, published by the 
Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1888. These tales made 
their way slowly in England, but gradually eclipsed 
the native English tales and legends which had been 



THE HISTORY OF FAIRY TALES 181 

discouraged by Puritan influence. In Perrault's time, 
when this influence was beginning to decHne, they su- 
perseded the EngHsh tales, crowding out all but Jack 
the Giant- Killer , Tom Hickathrift, Jack and the BeaU" 
stalky Tom Thumbs and Childe Rowland. 

1650-1705. Fairy Tales, by Madame D*Aulnoy. In 
France there were many followers of Perrault. The 
most important of these was Madame D'Aulnoy. She 
did not copy Perrault. She was a brilliant, witty coun- 
tess, and brought into her tales, entitled Conies de 
FeeSy the graces of the court. She adhered less strictly 
to tradition than Perrault, and handled her material 
freely, making additions, amplifications, and moral re- 
flections, to the original tale. Her weaving together of 
incidents is artistic and her style graceful and not 
unpleasing. It is marked by ornamentation, sumptu- 
ousness, and French sentimentality. It shows a lack 
of naivete resulting from the palace setting given to 
her tales, making them adapted only to children of 
high rank. Often her tale is founded on a beautiful 
tradition. The Blue-Bird, one of the finest of her tales, 
was found in the poems of Marie de France, in the 
thirteenth century. Three of her tales were borrowed 
from Straparola. Among her tales the most important 
are: — 

Graciosa and Percinet. (Basile.) 

The Blue- Bird, (Contains a motif similar to one in The 
Singing, Soaring Lark.) 

The White Cat. (Similar to Three Feathers and The Mil- 
ler's Boy and the Cat.) 



182 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

The Hind in the Wood. (Similar to Rumpelstiltskin.) 
The Good Little Mouse. (Basile.) 

The Fair One with the Golden Locks. {Ferdinand the Faith- 
ful.) 

The Yellow Dwarf. 

Priricess Belle Etoile. (Straparola.) 

The careful translation of Madame D'Aulnoy's tales 
by Mr. Planche faithfully preserves the spirit of the 
original. 

There were many imitators of Countess D'Aulnoy, 
in France, in the eighteenth century. Their work was 
on a much lower level and became published in the 
Cabinet des Fees, a collection of stories including in its 
forty volumes the work of many authors, of which 
the greater part is of little value. Of those following 
D'Aulnoy three deserve mention : — 

1711-1780. Moral TaZe^, by Madame de Beaumont. 
These were collected while the author was in England. 
Of these we use Prince Cherry. Madame de Beaumont 
wrote a children's book in which is found a tale similar 
to The Singing, Soaring Lark, entitled The Maiden and 
the Beast. She also wrote 69 volumes of romance. 

1765. Tales, by Madame Villeneuve. Of these we 
use Beauty and the Beast. 

1692-1765. TaZes, by Comte de Caylus. The author 
was an antiquarian and scholar. Of his tales we use 
Sylvain and Yocosa. 

Very little attempt has been made in modern times 
to include in our children's literature the best of for- 
eign literature for children, for there has been very 



THE HISTORY OF FAIRY TALES 183 

little study of foreign books for children. Certainly 
the field of children's literature would be enriched to 
receive translations of any books worthy of the name 
classic. A partial list of French fairy tales is here given, 
indicating to children's librarians how little has been 
done to open up this field, and inviting their labor : — 

Bibliotheque Rose, a collection. (What should be inchided?) 

Bihliotheque des Petits Enfants, a collection. (What should 
be included 3^) 

1799-1874. Fairy Tales from the French, by Madame de 
Segur. These tales are published by Winston. We also use 
her Stor?j of a Donkey, written in 1860 and published by 
Heath in 1901. 

1866. Fairy Tales of all Nations, by Edouard Laboulaye. 

1902. Last Fairy Tales, also by Laboulaye. 

Tales, by Zenaide Fleuriot. (What should be included?) 

1910. Chantecler, by Edmund Rostand. Translated by 
Gertrude Hall, published by Duffield. 

1911. The Honey Bee, by Anatole France; translated by 
Mrs. Lane; published by Lane. 

1911. The Blue-Bird, by Maurice Maeterlinck; published 
by Dodd. 

In Great Britain many old tales taken from tradi- 
tion were included in the W^elsh Mabinogion, Irish 
sagas, and Cornish Mabinogion. Legends of Brittany 
were made known by the poems of Marie de France, 
who lived in the thirteenth century. These were pub- 
lished in Paris, in 1820. In fact, most of the early pub- 
lications of fairy tales were taken from the French. 

Celtic tales have been collected in modern times in a 
greater number than those of any nation. This has 
been due largely to the work of J. F. Campbell. Celtic 



184 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

tales are unusual in that they have been collected 
while the custom of story-telling is yet flourishing 
among the Folk. They are therefore of great literary 
and imaginative interest. They are especially valuable 
as the oldest of the European tales. The Irish tale of 
Connla and the Fairy Maiden has been traced to a date 
earlier than the fifth century and therefore ranks as the 
oldest tale of modern Europe. The principal Celtic 
collections are : — 

lolo M.S., published by the Welsh M.S. Society. 

Mabinogion, translated by Lady Guest. (Contains tales 
that trace back to the twelfth century.) 

Y Cymrodor, by Professor Rhys. 

1825. Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland, 
by T. Crofton Croker. 

1842. Popular Rhymes of Scotland. Chambers. 

1860-62. Popidar Tales of the West Highlands, by J. F. 
Campbell. 

Tales, collected and published with notes, by Mr. Alfred 
Nutt. 

1866. By Patrick Kennedy, the Irish Grimm. Legendary 
Fictions of the Irish Celts; Fireside Storie? of Ireland (1870); 
and Bardic Stories of Ireland (1871). 

In England the publication of fairy tales may be 
followed more readily because the language proves no 
hindrance and the literature gives assistance. In Eng- 
land the principal publications of fairy tales were : — 

1604. PasquiVs Jests. Contained a tale similar to one of 
Grimm's. 

1635. A Tract, A Descry ption of the Kynge and Quene of 
Fairies, their habit, fare, abode, pomp, and state. 

Eighteenth century (early). Madame D'Aulnoy's Tales, a 
translation. 



THE HISTORY OF FAIRY TALES 185 

1667-1745. Gulliver's Travels, by Dean Swift. (One mod- 
ern edition, with introduction by W. D. Howells, and more 
than one hundred illustrations by Louis Rhead, is published 
by Harpers. Another edition, illustrated by Arthur Rack- 
ham, is published by Dutton.) 

1700-1800. Chap-Books. Very many of these books, es- 
pecially the best ones, were published by William and Cluer 
Dicey, in Aldermary Church Yard, Bow Lane, London. 
Rival publishers, whose editions were rougher in engraving, 
type, and paper, labored in Newcastle. 

The chap-books were little paper books hawked by chap- 
men, or traveling peddlers, who went from village to village 
with " Almanacks, Bookes of Newes, or other trifling 
wares." These little books were usually from sixteen to 
twenty-four pages in bulk and in size from two and one half 
inches by three and one half inches to five and one half inches 
by four and one quarter inches. They sold for a penny or six- 
pence and became the very popular literature of the middle 
and lower classes of their time. After the nineteenth cen- 
tury they became widely published, deteriorated, and gradu- 
ally were crowded out by the Penny Magazine and Cham- 
bers's Penny Tracts and Miscellanies. For many years before 
the Victorian period, folk-lore was left to the peasants and 
kept out of reach of the children of the higher classes. This 
was the reign of the moral tale, of Thomas Bewick's Look- 
ing Glass of the Mind and Mrs. Sherwood's Henry and His 
Bearer. Among the chap-books published by William and 
Cluer Dicey, may be mentioned : The Pleasant and Delightful 
History of Jack and the Giants (part second was printed and 
sold by J. White) ; Guy, Earl of Warwick; Bevis of Hampton; 
The History of Reynard the Fox, dated 1780; The History of 
Fortunatus, condensed from an edition of 1682; The Fryer 
and the Boy; A True Tale of Robin Hood (Robin Hood Gar- 
land Blocks, from 1680, were used in the London Bridge 
Chap-Book edition) ; The Famous History of Thomas Thumb; 
The History of Sir Richard Whittington; and The Life and 
Death of St. George. Tom Hickathrift was printed by and for 
M. Angus and Son, at Newcastle-in-the-Side : Valentine and 
Orson was printed at Lyons, France, in 1489; and in England 



186 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

by Wynkyn de Worde. Among the chap-books many tales 
not fairy tales were included. With the popularity of Goody 
Two Shoes and the fifty little books issued by Newbery, the 
realistic tale of modern times made a sturdy beginning. Of 
these realistic chap-books one of the most popular was The 
History of Little Tom Trip, probably by Goldsmith, engraved 
by the famous Thomas Bewick, published by T. Saint, of 
Newcastle, This was reprinted by Ed. Pearson in 1867. 

Of Jack the Giant- Killer, in Skinner's Folk-Lore, David 
Masson has said: '* Our Jack the Giant-Killer is clearly the 
last modern transmutation of the old British legend, told in 
Geoffrey of Monmouth, of Corinelis the Trojan, the com- 
panion of the Trojan Brutus when he first settled in Britain; 
which Corineiis, being a very strong man, and particularly 
good-humored, is satisfied with being King of Cornwall, and 
killing out all the aboriginal giants there, leaving to Brutus 
all the rest of the island, and only stipulating that, whenever 
there is a peculiarly difficult giant in any part of Brutus' 
dominions, he shall be sent for to finish the fellow." 

Tom Hickathrift, whose history is given in an old number 
of Frasers Magazine, is described by Thackeray as one of the 
publisher Cundall's books, bound in blue and gold, illus- 
trated by Frederick Taylor in 1847. According to Thackeray 
this chap-book tale was written by Fielding. Speaking of the 
passage, " The giant roared hideously but Tom had no more 
mercy on him than a bear upon a dog," he said: " No one 
but Fielding could have described battle so." Of the passage, 
" Having increased his strength by good living and improved 
his courage by drinking strong ale," he remarked: *' No one 
but Fielding could have given such an expression." The 
quality of the English of this chap-book is apparent in the 
following sentence, taken from Ashton's version: ** So Tom 
stepped to a gate and took a rail for a staff." 

In regard to their literary merit the chap-books vary 
greatly. Some evidently are works of scholars who omitted 
to sign their names. In the collection by Ashton those deserv- 
ing mention for their literary merit are : Patient Grissel, by 
Boccaccio; Fortunatus; Valentine and Orson; Joseph and His 
Brethren; The Friar and the Boy; Reynard the Fox, from 



THE HISTORY OF FAIRY TALES 187 

Caxton*s translation; Tom Hickathrift, probably by Field- 
ing; and The Foreign Travels of Sir John Mandeville. 

1708-90. Chap-Books. Printed by J. White, of York, 
established at Newcastle, 1708. These included: Tom 
Hickathrift; Jack the Giant-Killer; and Cock Robin. 

1750. A New Collection of Fairy Tales. 2 vols. 

1760. Mother Goose's Melodies. A collection of many 
nursery rhymes, songs, and a few old ballads and tales, pub- 
lished by John Newbery. The editor is unknown, but most 
likely was Oliver Goldsmith. The title of the collection may 
have been borrowed from Perrault's Contes de ma Mere VOye, 
of which an English version appeared in 1729. The title itself 
has an interesting history dating hundreds of years before 
Perrault's time. By 1777 Mother Goose's Melodies had 
passed the seventh edition. In 1780 they were published by 
Carnan, Newbery's stepson, under the title Sonnets for the 
Cradle. In 1810 Gammer Gurton's Garland, a collection, was 
edited by Joseph Ritson, an English scholar. In 1842 J. O. 
Halliwell issued, for the Percy Society, The Nursery Rhymes 
of England. The standard modern text should consist of 
Newbery's book with such additions from Ritson and Halli- 
well as bear internal evidence of antiquity and are true 
nursery rhymes. 

1770. Queen Mab, A Collection of Entertaining Tales of 
Fairies. 

1783. The Lilliputian Magazine. Illustrated by Thomas 
Bewick, published by Caman. 

1788. The Pleasing Companion, A Collection of Fairy 
Tales. 

1788. Fairy Tales Selected from the Best Authors, 2 vols. 

1770-91. Books published by John Evans, of Long Lane. 
Printed on coarse sugar paper. They included : Cock Robin, 
1791 ; Mother Hubbard; Cinderella; and The Tragical Death of 
an Apple Pye. 

1809. A Collection of Popular Stories for the Nursery, 
translated from French, Italian, and Old English, by Benja- 
min Tabart, in 4 volumes. 

1810 (about). Lilliputian Library, by J. G. Rusher, of 
Bridge St., Banbury. The Halfpenny Series included; 



188 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

Mother Hubbard and Her Dog; Jack The Giant-Killer; Dick 
Whittington and His Cat; The History of Tom Thumb (Mid- 
dlesex) ; Death and Burial of Cock Robin; and Cinderella and 
Her Glass Slipper. The Penny Series included : History of a 
Banbury Cake, and Jack the Giant-Killer, designed by Craig, 
engraved by Lee. Of Rusher's books those engraved by the 
Bewick School were : Cock Robin; The History of Tom Thumb; 
and Children in the Wood. Rusher's books also included: 
Mother Hubbard and Her Dog, Cinderella and Her Glass Slip- 
per, and Dick Whittington and His Cat, all designed by 
Cruikshank, engraved by Branstone, 

1818. Fairy Tales, or the Lilliputian Cabinet, collected by 
Benj. Tabart, London. This was a new edition of the collec- 
tion of 1809, and contained twenty-four stories. A full review 
of it may be seen in the Quarterly Review, 1819, No. 41, pp. 
91-112. The tales included translations from Perrault, Ma- 
dame D'Aulnoy, Madame de Beaumont, tales from The 
Thousand and One Nights, and from Robin Hood; and the 
single tales of Jack the Giant- Killer, Tom Thumb, and Jack 
and the Bean-Stalk. 

1824, 1826. German Popular Stories, translated by Edgar 
Taylor, with illustrations by Cruikshank, published by 
Charles Tilt, London. A new edition, introduction by Rus- 
kin, was pubUshed by Chatto & Windus, 1880. 

The above are the main collections of fairy tales in 
England. Many individual publications show the 
gradual development of fairy tale illustration in Eng- 
land: i— 

1713-1767. John Newbery's Books for Children. Among 
these were Beauty and the Beast, by Charles Lamb, 1765, and 
Sinbad the Sailor, 1798. 

1778. Fabulous Histories of the Robins. Mrs. Sarah Trim- 

1 This list has been compiled largely from " Children's Books and 
Their Illustrators," by Gleeson White, in The International Studio, 
Special Winter Number, 1897-98. 



THE HISTORY OF FAIRY TALES 189 

mer. Cuts designed by Thomas Bewick, engraved by John 
Thompson, Whittingham's Chiswick Press. 

1755-1836. Life and Perambulations of a Mouse; and 
Adventures of a Pin-Cushion. Dorothy Kilner. 

1785. Baron Munchausen's Narratives of His Famous 
Travels and Campaigns in Russia. Rudolf Raspe. 

1788. Little Thumb and the Ogre. Illustrated by William 
Blake; published by R. Dutton. 

1790. The Death and Burial of Cock Robin. Illustrated by 
Thomas Bewick. Catnach. 

1807. Tales from Shakespeare. Charles and Mary Lamb. 
W. J. Godwin and Co. Wilham Blake illustrated an edition 
of these tales, probably the original edition. 

1813. Reprints of forgotten books, by Andrew Tuer: 
Dame Wiggins of Lee; The Gaping Wide-Mouthed Waddling 
Frog: The House that Jack Built. Dame Wiggins of Lee was 
first printed by A. K. Newman and Co., Minerva Press. 
Original cuts by R. Stennet or Sinnet. Reprinted by Allen, 
1885, with illustrations added by Kate Greenaway. 

1841. King of the Golden River. John Ruskin. Illustrated 
by Richard Doyle, 1884. 

1844. Home Treasury, by *' Felix Summerley " (Sir Henry 
Cole). "Felix Summerley" was a reformer in children's 
books. He secured the assistance of many of the first art- 
ists of his time: Mulready, Cope, Horsley, Redgrave, 
Webster, all of the Royal Academy, Linnell and his three 
sons, Townsend, and others. These little books were pub- 
lished by Joseph Cundall and have become celebrated 
through Thackeray's mention of them. They aimed to culti- 
vate the affections, fancy, imagination, and taste of children, 
they were a distinct contrast to the Peter Parley books. 
They were new books, new combinations of old materials, 
and reprints, purified but not weakened. Their literature 
possessed brightness. The books were printed in the best 
style of the Chiswick Press, with bindings and end papers 
especially designed. They included these tales: Puck's Re- 
ports to Oberon; Four New Fairy Tales; The Sisters; Golden 
Locks; Grumble and Cherry; Little Red Riding Hood, with 
four colored illustrations by Webster; Beauty and the Beast, 



190 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

with four colored illustrations by Horsley; Jack and the 
Bean-Stalk, with four colored illustrations by Cope; Jack the 
Giant-Killer, also illustrated by Cope; and The Pleasant His- 
tory of Reynard, the Fox, with forty of the fifty-seven etch- 
ings made by Everdingen, in 1752. 

1824-1883. Publications by Richard Doyle. These in- 
cluded The Fairy Ring, 1845; Snow White and Rosy Red, 
1871; Jack the Giant-Killer, 1888, etc. 

1846. Undine, by De La Motte Fouque, illustrated by 
John Tenniel, published by James Burns. 

1846. The Good-Natured Bear, by Richard Hengist Home, 
the English critic. This was illustrated by Frederick Taylor, 
pubhshed probably by Cundall. The book is now out of 
print, but deserves to be reprinted. 

1847-1864. Cruikshank Fairy Library. A series of small 
books in paper wrappers. Not equal to the German popular 
stories in illustration. It included Tom Thumb, 1830; John 
Gilpin, 1828 (realistic) ; and The Brownies, 1870. 

1847. Bob and Dog Quiz. Author unknown. Revived by 
E. V. Lucas in Old-fashioned Tales. Illustrated by F. D. 
Bedford; published by Stokes, 1905. 

1850. The Child's Own Book. Published in London. There 
was an earlier edition, not before 1830. The introduction, 
which in the 1850 edition was copied from the original, indi- 
cates by its style that the book was written early in the nine- 
teenth century. The book was the delight of generations of 
children. It was a collection containing tales from Arabian 
Nights, Perrault's tales of Cinderella, Puss-in- Boots, Hop-o'- 
my-Thumb, Bluebeard, etc., D'Aulnoy's Valentine and Orson, 
chap-book stories of Dick Whittington, Fortunatus, Griselda, 
Robinson Crusoe, The Children in the Wood, Little Jack, and 
others. A recent edition of this book is in the Young 
Folks' library, vol. 1, published by Hall & Locke, Boston, 
1901. 

1850 (about). The Three Bears. Illustrated by Absalon 
and Harrison Weir. Addy and Co. 

1824-1889. Work by Mrs. Mary Whateley. She had a 
Moslem school in Cairo and exerted a fairy tale influence. 

1826-1887. The Little Lame Prince; Adventures of a 



THE HISTORY OF FAIRY TALES 191 

Brownie; and The Fairy Book. Produced by Mrs. Dinah 
Muloch Craik. 

1854. The Rose and the Ring, by William M. Thackeray. 
A modern edition contains the original illustrations with 
additions by Monsell. Crowell. 

1855. Granny's Story Box. A collection. Illustrated by 
J. Knight; published by Piper, Stephenson, and Spence. 

1856. Granny's Wonderful Chair, containing Prince Fairy- 
foot. Written by Frances Browne, a blind Irish poetess. 

1863. Water Babies. Charles Kingsley. Sir Noel Patton. 
The Macmillan Company. 

1865. Stories Told to a Child, including Fairy Tales; Mopsa 
the Fairy, 1869. By Jean Ingelow. 

1865. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll 
(Charles Dodgson), with 42 illustrations by John Tenniel, 
published by Macmillan Company, Oxford. First edition 
recalled. Later editions were published by Richard Clay, 
London. 

1869. At the Back of the North Wind; The Princess and the 
Goblin, 1871. By George MacDonald. Arthur Hughes. 
Strahan. Reprinted by Blackie. 

1870. The Brownies; 1882, Old-fashioned Fairy Tales. By 
Juliana Ewing. 

1873. A Series of Toy-Books for Children, by Walter 
Crane (1845-1914). Published by Routledge and printed in 
colors by Edmund Evans. Twenty-seven of these stories in 
nine volumes are published by John Lane, Bodley Head. 
Princess Fioromonde, 1880, Grimm's Household Stories, 1882, 
and The Cuckoo Clock, 1887, all by Mrs. Molesworth, were 
also illustrated by Crane. 

1878-. Picture-Books, by Randolph Caldecott (1846- 
1886). These were sixteen in number. They are published 
by F. Warne. 

1875-. Stories from the Eddas; Dame Wiggins of Lee 
(Allen) ; and The Pied Piper of Hamelin. These delightful 
books by Kate Greenaway (1846-1901) were published by 
Routledge and engraved by Edmund Evans. They are now 
published by F. Warne. 



192 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

This brings the English side of the subject down to 
the present time. Present editions of fairy tales are 
given in Chapter VI. 

In Germany there were also many translations from 
the French of Perrault and D'Aulnoy. There were 
editions in 1764, 1770, etc. Most of those before the 
Grimms' Tales were not important. One might men- 
tion : — 

1782. Popular German Stories, by Musaus. 

1818. Fables, Stories, and Tales for Children, by Caroline 
Stahl. 

1819. Bohemian Folk- Tales, by Wolfgang Gerle. 
1812-1814. Kinder und Haus-Mdrchen, by Jacob and 

William Grimm. The second edition was published in 3 vol- 
umes in Berlin, by Reiner, in 1822. This latter work formed 
an era in popular literature and has been adopted as a model 
by all true collectors since. 

Concerning the modern German fairy tale, the Ger- 
mans have paid such special attention to the selection 
and grading of children's literature that their library 
lists are to be recommended. Wolgast, the author of 
Vom Kinderbuch, is an authority on the child's book. 
The fairy tale received a high estimate in Germany 
and no nation has attained a higher achievement in 
the art of the fairy tale book. The partial list simply 
indicates the slight knowledge of available material 
and would suggest an inviting field to librarians. A 
great stimulus to children's literature would be given 
by a knowledge of what the Germans have already 
accomplished in this particular. In Germany a child's 



THE HISTORY OF FAIRY TALES 193 

book, before it enters the market, must first be ac- 
cepted by a committee who test the book according to 
a standard of excellence. Any book not coming up to 
the standard is rejected. A few of the German editions 
in use are given : — 

Bilderhucher, by Lowensohn. 

Bilderbilcher, by Scholz. 

Liebe Mdrchen. One form of the above, giving three tales 
in one volume. 

Mdrchen, by W. Hauff, published by Lowe. One edition, 
illustrated by Arthur Rackham, is published by Dutton. 
The Caravan Tales is an edition published by Stokes. 

Mdrchen, by Musaus, published by Von K. A. Miiller. 

1777-1843. Undine, by La Motte Fouque. A recent edi- 
tion, illustrated by Rackham, is published by Doubleday. 

1817-77. Books by Otillie Wildermuth. (What of hers 
should be translated and included?) 

Hanschen im Blauheerenwald ; Hanschens Skifart Mdrchen, 
both by Elsa Beskow, published by Carl. 

Windchen; and Wurzelkindern, both by Sybille von Olfers, 
published by Schreiber. 

Das Mdrchen von den Sandmannlein, by Riemann, pub- 
lished by Schreiber. 

Der Froschkonig, by Liebermann, published by Scholz. 

Weisst du wieviel Sternlein stehen, by Lewinski, published 
by Schreiber. 

In Sweden there appeared translations of Perrault 
and D'Aulnoy. The Blue-Bird was oftenest printed as 
a chap-book. Folk-tales were collected in: — 

Swedish Tales, a collection. H. R. Von Schroter. 

1844. Folk-Tales. George Stevens and Hylten CavalHus. 

Sweden has given us the modern fairy tale, The 
Wonderful Adventures of Nils (2 volumes). This de- 



194 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

lightful tale by Selma Lagerlof, born 1858, and a win- 
ner of the Nobel prize, has established itself as a child's 
classic. It has been translated by V. S. Howard, pub- 
lished by Doubleday, 1907. 
In Norway we have : — 

1851. Norske Folkeeventyr, collected by Asbjornsen and 
Moe. 

1862. Norse Tales. The above tales translated by Sir 
George W. Dasent. 

In Denmark we have : — 

Sagas of Bodvar Biarke. 

Danske Folkeeventyr, by M. Winther, Copenhagen, 1823. 

1843-60. Danmarks Folkesagn, 3 vols., by J. M. Thiele. 

1805-1875. Fairy Tales, by Hans Christian Andersen. 
These tales are important as marking the beginning of the 
modern fairy tale. They are important also as literary fairy 
tales and have not been equaled in modern times. 

In Slavonia we have : — 

Wochentliche NachrichteUy by Busching, published by 
Schottky. 

In Hungary we have: — 

1822. Mdrchen der Magyaren, by George von Gaal. 

In Greece and Russia no popular tales were collected 
before the time of the Grimms. 

In Italy the two great collections of the world of 
fairy tales have been mentioned. Italy has also given 
the modern fairy tale which has been accepted as a 
classic: Pinocchio, by C. Collodi (Carlo Lorenzini). 
This has been illustrated by Copeland, pubUshed by 



THE HISTORY OF FAIRY TALES 195 

Ginn; and illustrated by Folkhard, published by 
Dutton. 

In America the publication of fairy tales was at first 
a reprinting of English editions. In colonial times, 
previous to the revolution, booksellers imported 
largely from England. After the revolution a new 
home-growth in literature gradually developed. At 
first this was largely in imitation of literature in Eng- 
land. After the time of Washington Irving a distinct 
American adult literature established itself. The little 
child's toy-book followed in the wake of the grown- 
up's fiction. The following list^ shows the growth of 
the American fairy tale, previous to 1870. Recent edi- 
tions are given in Chapter VI. 

1747-1840. Forgotten Books of the American Nursery, A 
History of the Development of the American Story-Book. Hal- 
sey, Rosalie V. Boston, C. E. Goodspeed & Co., 1911. 244 pp. 

1785-1788. Isaiah Thomas, Printer, Writer, and Collector. 
Nichols, Charles L. A paper read April 12, 1911, before the 
Club of Odd Volumes. . . . Boston. Printed for the Club of 
Odd Volumes, 1912. 144 pp. List of juveniles 1787-88: pp. 
132-33. 

1785. Mother Goose. The original Mother Goose's melody, 
as first issued by John Newbery, of London, about a.d. 1760. 
Reproduced in facsimile from the edition as reprinted by 
Isaiah Thomas, of Worcester, Mass., a.d. 1785 (about) . . . 
Albany, J. Munsell's Sons, 1889. 28 pp. 

1787. Banbury Chap-Books and Nursery Toy-Book Litera- 

1 The following list, compiled by Mr. H. H. B. Meyer, the chief 
bibliographer of the Library of Congress, has been furnished through 
the courtesy of the United States Bureau of Education. A few addi- 
tional books were inserted by the author. The books at the head of 
the list give information on the subject. 



196 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

ture (of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries) . . . 
Pearson, Edwin. With very much that is interesting and 
valuable appertaining to the early typography of children's 
books relating to Great Britain and America. . . . London, 
A. Reader, 1890: 116 pp. Impressions from wood-cut blocks 
by T. and J. Bewick, Cruikshank, Craig, Lee, Austin, and 
others. 

1789. The Olden Time Series. Gleanings chiefly from old 
newspapers of Boston and Salem, Mass. Brooks, Henry M., 
comp. Boston, Ticknor & Co., 1886. 6 vols. The Books that 
Children Read in 1798 . . . by T. C. Gushing: vol. 6, pp. 62- 
63. 

1800-1825. Goodrich, S. G. Recollections of a Lifetime. 
New York, Miller, Orton, and Mulligan, 1856. 2 vols. Chil- 
dren's books (1800-1825): vol. 1, pp. 164-74. 

1686. The History of Tom Thumb. John Dunton, Boston. 

1728. Chap-Books. Benjamin Franklin, Philadelphia. 

1730. Small Histories. Andrew Bradford, Philadelphia. 
These included Tom Thumb, Tom Hickathrift, and Dick 
Whittington. 

1744. The Child's New Plaything. Draper & Edwards, 
Boston. Reprint. Contained alphabet in rhyme, proverbs, 
fables, and stories: St. George and the Dragon; Fortunatus; 
Guy of Warwick; Brother and Sister; Reynard the Fox; and 
The Wolf and the Kids. 

1750. John Newbery's books. Advertised in Philadelphia 
Gazette. The Pretty Book for Children probably included 
Cinderella, Tom Thumb, etc. 

1760. All juvenile publications for sale in England. Im- 
ported and sold by Hugh Gaine, New York. 

1766. Children's books. Imported and sold by John Mein, 
a London bookseller who had a shop in Boston. Included 
The Famous Tommy Thumb's Story Book; Leo the Great 
Giant; TJrax, or the Fair Wanderer; and The Cruel Giant y 
Barbarico. 

1787. All Newbery's publications. Reprinted by Isaiah 
Thomas, Worcester, Mass. 

1794. Arabian Nights. The Arabian Nights Entertain- 



THE HISTORY OF FAIRY TALES 197 

merits. . . . The first American edition. . . . Philadelphia, 
H. & P. Rice; Baltimore, J. Rice & Co., 1794. 2 vols. 

1804. Blue Beard. A New History of Blue Beard, written 
by Gaffer Black Beard, for the Amusement of Little Jack Black 
and his Pretty Sisters. Philadelphia, J. Adams, 1804. 31 pp. 

1819. Rip Van Winkle. A legend included in the works of 
Washington Irving, published in London, 1819. 

1823. A Visit from St. Nicholas. Clement Clark Moore, in 
Troy Sentinel, Dec. 23, 1823. Written the year before for his 
own family. The first really good American juvenile story, 
though in verse. 

1825. Babes in the Wood. The history of the children of 
the wood. ... To which is added an interesting account of 
the Captive Boy. New York, N. B. Holmes. 36 pp. Plates. 

1833. Mother Goose. The only true Mother Goose Melo- 
dies; an exact reproduction of the text and illustrations of 
the original edition, published and copyrighted in Boston in 
1833 by Munroe & Francis. . . . Boston, Lee & Shepard, 
1905. 103 pp. 

1836. The Fairy Book. With eighty-one engravings on 
wood, by Joseph A. Adams. New York, Harper & Bros. 1836. 
301 pp. Introduction by "John Smith." Edited by C. G. 
Verplanck, probably. 

1844. Fairy Land, and Other Sketches for Youths, by the 
author of Peter Parley's Tales (Samuel G. Goodrich). Boston, 
J. Munroe & Co. 167 pp. Plates, Cromo. Lith. of Bouve & 
Sharp, Boston. 

1848. Rainbows for Children, by L. Maria Child, ed. New 
York, C. S. Francis & Co. 170 pp. 28 original sketches . . . 
by S. W^allin. . . . B. F. Childs, wood engraver: p. 8. Ad- 
vertising pages: New books published by C. S. Francis & 
Co., N.Y. . . . The Fairy Gift and the Fairy Gem. Four 
volumes of choice fairy tales. Each illustrated with 200 fine 
engravings by French artists: p. 2. 

1851. Wonder Book, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Illustrated 
by W. Crane, 60 designs, published by Houghton, 1910. 

1852. Legends of the Flowers, by Susan Pindar. New 
York, D. Appleton & Co., 178 pp. 

1853. Fairy Tales and Legends of Many Nations, by 



198 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

Charles B. Burkhardt. New York, Chas. Scribner. 277 pp. 
Illustrated by W. Walcutt and J. H. Cafferty. 

1854. The Little Glass Shoe, and Other Stories for Children. 
Philadelphia, Charles H. Davis. 128 pp. Advertising pages: 
A description of illustrated juvenile books, published by 
Charles H. Davis: 16 pp. A Book of Fairy Stories: p. 9. 

1854. The History of Whittington and His Cat. Miss 
Corner and Alfred Crowquill. Dick Whittington is said to 
have been the best seller among juvenile publications for five 
hundred years. 

1855. Flower Fables, by Louisa May Alcott. Boston, 
G. W. Briggs & Co. 182 pp. 

1855. The Song of Hiawatha, by Henry Wadsworth Long- 
fellow. Published now by Houghton, illustrated by Freder- 
ick Remington. 

1864. Seaside and Fireside Fairies, by George Blum. 
Translated from the German of Georg Blum and Louis Wahl. 
By A. L. Wister. Philadelphia, Ashmead & Evans, 292 pp. 

1867. Grimm's Goblins, selected from the Household Sto- 
ries of the Brothers Grimm. Jacob L. K. Grimm. Boston, 
Ticknor & Fields. Ill pp. 

1867. Fairy Book. Fairy Tales of All Nations, by Edouard 
Laboulaye. Translated by Mary Booth. New York, Harper 
& Bros., 363 pp. Engravings. 

1867. The Wonderful Stories of Fuz-buz the Fly and Mother 
Grabem the Spider. By S. Weir Mitchell. Philadelphia, J. 
B. Lippincott & Co. 79 pp. 

1868. Folks and Fairies. Stories for little children. Lucy 
R. Comfort. New York, Harpers, 259 pp. Engravings. Ad- 
vertising pages: Six fairy tales published by Harper & 
Bros. 

1870. Cinderella, or The Little Glass Slipper. Boston, 
Fields, Osgood & Co. 1871. 8 pp. Colored plates by Alfred 
Fredericks. 

1873. Mother Goose. Illustrations of Mother Goose's Melo- 
dies. By Alexander Anderson. New York. Privately 
printed by C. L. Moreau (Analectic Press), 1873, 36 1. 10 
numb. 1. (Designed and engraved on wood.) 

1870. Beauty and the Beast, by Albert Smith. New York, 



THE HISTORY OF FAIRY TALES 199 

Manhattan Pub. Co., 1870. 64 pp. With illustrations by 
Alfred Crowquill. 

This brings the American child's fairy tale up to re- 
cent publications of the present day which are given in 
the chapter, " Sources of Material.'* An attempt has 
been made here to give a glimpse of folk and fairy 
tales up to the time of the Grimms, and a view of 
modern publications in France, Germany, England, 
and America. The Grimms started a revolution in 
folk-lore and in their lifetime took part in the collec- 
tion of many tales of tradition and influenced many 
others in the same line of work. An enumeration of 
what was accomplished in their lifetime appears in the 
notes of Grimm's Household Tales, edited by Margaret 
Hunt, published by Bohn's Libraries, vol. ii, pp. 531, 
etc. 

In modern times the Folk-Lore Society of England 
and America has been established. Now almost every 
nation has its folk-lore society and folk-tales are being 
collected all over the world. Altogether probably 
Russia has collected fifteen hundred such tales, Ger- 
many twelve hundred, Italy and France each one 
thousand, and India seven hundred. The work of the 
Grimms, ended in 1859, was continued by Emanuel 
Cosquin, who, in his Popular Tales of Lorraine, has 
made the most important recent contribution to folk- 
lore, — important for the European tale and impor- 
tant as showing the relation of the European tale to 
that of India. 



200 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

The principal recent collections of folk-lore are; — 

Legends and Fairy Tales of Ireland. Croker. 1825. 
Welsh and Manx Tales. Sir John Rhys. 1840-. 
Popular Rhymes of Scotland. Chambers. 1847. 
Tales of the West Highlands. Campbell. 1860. 
Popular Tales from the Norse. Dasent. 1862. 
Zulu Nursery Tales. Callaway. 1866. 
Old Deccan Days. Frere. 1868. 
Fireside Tales of Ireland. Kennedy. 1870. 
Indian Fairy Tales. Miss Stokes. 1880. 
Buddhist Birth Stories. Rhys Davids. 1880. 
Kaffir Folk-Lore. Theal. 1882. 
Folk-Tales of Bengal. Day. 1883. 
Wide Awake Stories. Steel and Temple. 1884. 
Italian Popular Tales. Crane. 1885. 
Popular Tales of Lorraine. Cosquin. 1886. 
Popular Tales and Fictions. Clouston. 1887. 
Folk-Tales of Kashmir. Knowles. 1887. 
Tales of Ancient Egypt. Maspero. 1889. 
Tales of the Sun. Mrs. Kingscote. 1890. 
Tales of the Punjab. Steel. 1894. 
Jataka Tales. Cowell. 1895. 
Russian Folk- Tales. Bain. 1895. 
Cossack Fairy Tales. Bain. 1899. 
Neu) World Fairy Book. Kennedy. 1906. 
Fairy Tales, English, Celtic, and Indian. Joseph Jacobs. 
1910-11. 

This brings the subject down to the present time. 
The present-day contributions to folk-lore are found 
best in the records of the Folk-lore Society, published 
since its founding in London, in 1878; and daily addi- 
tions, in the folk-lore journals of the various countries. 



THE HISTORY OF FAIRY TALES 201 



REFERENCES 

Adams, Oscar Fay: The Dear Old Story-Tellers. Lothrop. 
Ashton, John: Chap-Books of the 18th Century. Chatto & 

Windus. London, 1882. 
Bunce, John T.: Fairy Tales, Origin and Meaning. Mac- 

millan, 1878. 
Chamberlain, A. F.: The Child and Childhood in Folk- 
Thought. Macmillan. 
Clouston, W. A.: Popular Tales and Fictions. Edinburgh, 

Blackwoods, 1887. 
Cyclopaedia: "Mythology." Encyclopcedia Britannica. 
Cox, Miss Roalfe: Cinderella. Introduction by Lang. Nutt, 

1892. 
Dasent, George W.: Popular Tales from the Norse. Intro- 
duction. Routledge. 
Fiske, John : Myth and Myth-Makers. Houghton. 
Field, Mrs. E. M.: The Child and His Book. Gardner, 

Darton & Co. 
Frazer, J. G. : The Golden Bough. (Spring ceremonies and 

primitive view of the soul.) Macmillan. 
Frere, Miss: Old Deccan Days. Introduction. McDonough. 
Godfrey, Elizabeth: English Children in the Olden Time. 

Dutton, 1907. 
Grimm, William and Jacob: Household Tales. Edited with 

valuable notes, by Margaret Hunt. Introduction by Lang. 

Bell & Sons, Bohn's Libraries. 
Guerber, Helene A. : Legends of the Middle Ages. (Reynard 

the Fox) American Book Co. 
Halliwell, J. O. : Nursery Rhymes of England. 

Ibid.: Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales. Smith, 1849. 
Halsey, Rosalie: Forgotten Books of the American Nursery. 

Goodspeed, Boston, 1911. 
Hartland, E. S. : Science of Fairy Tales. Preface. Scribner, 

1891. 
Ibid.: English Folk and Fairy Tales. Camelot series, 
Scott, London. 
Hartland, Sidney: Legend of Perseus (origin of a tale). 



202 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

Hewins, Caroline M.: The History of Children* s Books. 

Atlantic, 61: 112 (Jan., 1888). 
Jacobs, Joseph: Reynard the Fox. Cranford Series. Mac- 

millan. 

Ibid.: Fairy Tales. Introduction, Notes and Appendix. 
Putnam. 
Keightley, Thomas: Fairy Mythology. Macmillan. 

Ibid.: Tales and Popular Fictions. Whittaker & Co., 
London, 1834. 
Lang, Andrew : Custom and Myth. Longmans, London, 1893. 
Mabie, Hamilton: Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know. 

Introduction. Doubleday. 
MacDonald, George: The Light Princess. Introduction 

Putnam. 
Magazine: "Myths and Fairy Tales." Fortnightly Review, 

May, 1872. 
Mitchell, Donald G.: About Old Story-Tellers. Scribners. 

1877. 
Moses, Montrose: Children's Books and Reading. Kennerley. 
Mulock, Miss : Fairy Book. Preface. Crowell. 
Pearson, Edwin. Banbury Chap-Books and Nursery Toy-Book 

Literature (18th and early 19th centuries). London. A. 

Reader, 1890. 
Perrault, Charles: Popular Tales. Edited by A. Lang. 

Introduction. Oxford, 1888. 
Ritson, J.: Fairy Tales. Pearson, London, 1831. 
Scott, Sir Walter : Minstrelsy of Scottish Border. Preface to 

Tamlane, "Dissertation on Fairies," p. 108. 
Skinner, H. M. : Readings in Folk-Lore. American Book Co. 
Steel, Flora A. : Tales of the Punjab. Introduction and Ap- 
pendix. Macmillan. 
Tabart, Benj.: Fairy Tales, or the Lilliputian Cabinet. Lon- 
don, 1818. 

Review: The Quarterly Review, 1819, No. 41, 
pp. 91-112. 
Tappan, Eva M.: The Children's Hour. Introduction to 

" Folk-Stories and Fables." Houghton. 
Taylor, Edgar: German Popular Stories. Introduction by 

Ruskin. Chatto & Windus. 



THE HISTORY OF FAIRY TALES 203 

Tylor, E. B.: Primitive Culture. Holt, 1889. 

Warner: Fairy Tales. Library of the World's Best Literature, 

vol. 30. 
Welsh, Charles; Fairy Tales Children Love. Introduction. 
Dodge. 

Ibid.: "The Early History of Children's Books in New 
England." New England Magazine, n.s. 20: 147-GO 
(April, 1899). 
Ibid.: A Chap-Book. Facsimile Edition. 1915. World 

Book Co. 
Ibid.: Mother Goose. Facsimile Edition. 1915. World 
Book Co. 
White, Gleeson: "Children's Books and Their Illustrators." 
International Studio, Special Winter Number, 1897-98. 



CHAPTER V 

CLASSES OF FAIRY TALES 

But the fact that after having been repeated for two thousand 
years, a story still possesses a perfectly fresh attraction for a child of 
to-day, does indeed prove that there is in it something of imperish- 
able worth. — Felix Adler. 

Whatever has, at any time, appealed to the best emotions and 
moved the heart of a people, must have for their children's children, 
political, historical, and cultural value. This is especially true of 
folk-tales and folk-songs. — P. P. Claxton, United States Commis- 
sioner of Education. 

I. AVAILABLE TYPES OF TALES 

From all this wealth of accumulated folk-material 
which has come down to us through the ages, we must 
select, for we cannot crowd the child with all the folk- 
stuff that folk-lore scientists are striving to preserve 
for scientific purposes. Moreover, naturally much of it 
contains the crudities, the coarseness, and the cruelties 
of primitive civihzation; and it is not necessary that 
the child be burdened with this natural history of a 
past society. We must select from the past. In this 
selection of what shall be presented to the child we 
must be guided by two standards : First, we owe it to 
the child to hand on to him his literary heritage; and 
secondly, we must help him to make of himself the 
ideal man of the future. Therefore the tales we offer 
must contribute to these two standards. The tales 
selected will be those which the ages have found in- 



CLASSES OF FAIRY TALES 205 

teresting; for the fact that they have Hved proves 
their fitness, they have lived because there was some- 
thing in them that appealed to the universal heart. 
And because of this fact they will be those which in 
the frequent re-tellings of ages have acquired a classic 
form and therefore have within themselves the possi- 
bility of taking upon them a perfect literary form. 
The tales selected will be those tales which, as we have 
pointed out, contain the interests of children; for only 
through his interests does the child rise to higher in- 
terests and finally develop to the ideal man. They 
will be those tales which stand also the test of a clas- 
sic, the test of literature, the test of the short-story, 
and the test of narration and of description. The 
child would be handicapped in life to be ignorant of 
these tales. 

Tales suitable for the little child may be viewed 
under these seven classes of available types: (1) the 
accumulative, or clock story; (2) the animal tale; (3) 
the humorous tale; (4) the realistic tale; (5) the ro- 
mantic tale; (6) the old tale; and (7) the modern tale. 

I. The Accumulative Tale. 

The accumulative tale is the simplest form of the 
tale. It may be : — 

(1) A tale of simple repetition. 

(2) A tale of repetition with an addition, incre- 
mental iteration. 

(3) A tale of repetition, with variation. 



206 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

Repetition and rhythm have grown out of com- 
munal conditions. The old stories are measured ut- 
terances. At first there was the spontaneous expres- 
sion of a little community, with its gesture, action, 
sound, and dance, and the word, the shout, to help 
out. There was the group which repeated, which 
acted as a chorus, and the leader who added his indi- 
vidual variation. From these developed the folk-tale 
with the dialogue in place of the chorus. 

Of the accumulative tales. The House that Jack 
Built illustrates the first class of tales of simple repeti- 
tion. This tale takes on a new interest as a remarkable 
study of phonics. If any one were so happy as to dis- 
cover the phonic law which governs the euphony pro- 
duced by the succession of vowels in the lines of Mil- 
ton's poetry, he would enjoy the same law worked out 
in The House that Jack Built. The original, as given 
by Halliwell in his Nursery Rhymes of England^ is said 
to be a Hebrew hymn, at first written in Chaldaic. To 
the Hebrews of the Middle Ages it was called the 
Haggadahy and was sung to a rude chant as part of the 
Passover service. It first appeared in print in 1590, at 
Prague. Later, in Leipzig, it was published by the 
German scholar, Liebrecht. It begins: — 

A kid, a kid, my father bought 

For two pieces of money: 

A kid, a kid. 

Then came the cat and ate the kid, etc. 

Then follow the various repetitive stanzas, the last one 
turning back and reacting on all the others: — 



CLASSES OF FAIRY TALES 207 

Then came the Holy One, blessed be He, 

And killed the angel of death. 

That killed the butcher, 

That slew the ox, 

That drank the water. 

That quenched the fire. 

That burned the staff. 

That beat the dog, 

That bit the cat. 

That ate the kid. 

That my father bought 

For two pieces of money: 

A kid, a kid. 



The remarkable similarity to The Old Woman and 
Her Pig^ at once proclaims the origin of that tale also. 
The interpretation of this tale is as follows : The kid is 
the Hebrews; the father by whom it was purchased, 
is Jehovah; the two pieces of money are Aaron and 
Moses; the cat is the Assyrians; the dog is the Baby- 
lonians; the staff is the Persians; the fire is the Greek 
Empire and Alexander; the water is the Romans; the 
ox is the Saracens; the butcher is the Crusaders; and 
the angel of death is the Turkish Power. The message 
of this tale is that God will take vengeance over the 
Turks and the Hebrews will be restored to their own 
land. 

Another tale of simple repetition, whose fairy ele- 
ment is the magic key, is The Key of the Kingdom, also 
found in Halliwell's Nursery Rhymes of England: — 

* The Woman and Her Kid, a version of this tale adapted from an 
ancient Jewish Sacred Book, is given in Boston Kindergarten Stories, 
p. 171. 



208 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

This is the key of the kingdom. 
In that kingdom there is a city. 
In that city there is a town. 
In that town there is a street. 
In that street there is a lane. 
In that lane there is a yard. 
In that yard there is a house. 
In that house there is a room. 
In that room there is a bed. 
On that bed there is a basket. 
In that basket there are some flowers. 
Flowers in the basket, basket on the bed, 
bed in the room, etc. 

The Old Woman and Her Pig illustrates the second 
class of accumulative tale, where there is an addition, 
and like Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse^ where the end 
turns back on the beginning and changes all that pre- 
cedes. Here there is a more marked plot. This same 
tale occurs in Shropshire Folk-Lore, in the Scotch 
Wife and Her Bush of Berries, in Cluh-Fist, an Ameri- 
can folk-game described by Newell, in Cossack fairy 
tales, and in the Danish, Spanish, and Itahan. In the 
Scandinavian, it is Nanny, Who Would nH Go Borne to 
Supper, and in the Punjab, The Grain of Corn, also 
given in Tales of Laughter. I have never seen a child 
who did not like it or who was not pleased with him- 
self for accomplishing its telling. It lends itself most 
happily to illustration. Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse 
pleases because of the liveliness of its images, and be- 
cause of the catastrophe at the end, which affects the 
child just as the tumble of his huge pile of blocks — 
the crash and general upheaval delight him. This tale 
has so many variants that it illustrates well the diffu- 



CLASSES OF FAIRY TALES 209 

sion of fairy tales. It is Grimm's The Spider and the 
Flea, which as we have seen, is appeaHng in its sim- 
pHcity; the Norse The Cock Who Fell into the Brewing 
Vat; and the Indian The Death and Burial of Poor 
Hen. The curious succession of incidents may have 
been invented once for all at some definite time, and 
from thence spread to all the world. 

Johnny Cake and The Gingerbread Man also repre- 
sent the second class of accumulative tale, but show a 
more definite plot; there is more story -stuff and a 
more decided introduction and conclusion. How Jack 
Went to Seek His Fortune also shows more plot. It con- 
tains a theme similar to that of The Bremen Town 
Musicians, which is distinctly a beast tale where the 
element of repetition remains to sustain the interest 
and to preserve unity, but where a full-fledged short- 
story which is structurally complete, has developed. 
A fine accumulative tale belonging to this second 
class is the Cossack Straw Ox, which has been de- 
scribed under '* The Short-Story." Here we have a 
single line of sequence which gets wound up to a climax 
and then unwinds itself to the conclusion, giving the 
child, in the plot, something of that pleasure which he 
feels in winding up his toy animals to watch them 
perform in the unwinding. 

The Three Bears illustrates the third class of repeti- 
tive story, where there is repetition and variation. 
Here the iteration and parallelism have interest like 
the refrain of a song, and the technique of the story is 



210 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

like that of The Merchant of Venice. This is the ideal 
fairy story for the little child. It is unique in that it is 
the only instance in which a tale written by an author 
has become a folk-tale. It was written by Southey, 
and appeared in The Doctor y in London, in 1837. 
Southey may have used as his source, Scrapefooty 
which Joseph Jacobs has discovered for us, or he may 
have used Snow White, which contains the episode of 
the chairs. Southey has given to the world a nursery 
classic which should be retained in its purity of form. 
The manner of the Folk, in substituting for the little 
old woman of Southey*s tale, Goldilocks, and the dif- 
ference that it effects in the tale, proves the greater 
interest children naturally feel in the tale with a 
child. Similarly, in telling The Story of Midas to an 
audience of eager little people, one naturally takes the 
fine old myth from Ovid as Bulfinch gives it, and puts 
into it the Marigold of Hawthorne's creation. And 
after knowing Marigold, no child likes the story with- 
out her. Silver hair is another substitute for the little 
Old Woman in The Three Bears. The very little child's 
reception to Three Bears will depend largely on the 
previous experience with bears and on the attitude of 
the person telling the story. A little girl who was lis- 
tening to The Three Bears for the first time, as she 
heard how the Three Bears stood looking out of their 
upstairs window after Goldilocks running across the 
wood, said, " Why did n't Goldilocks lie down beside 
the Baby Bear? " To her the Bear was associated with 



CLASSES OF FAIRY TALES 211 

the friendly Teddy Bear she took with her to bed at 
night, and the story had absolutely no thrill of fear 
because it had been told with an emphasis on the 
comical rather than on the fearful. Similar in struc- 
ture to The Three Bears is the Norse Three Billy- 
Goats, which belongs to the same class of delightful 
repetitive tales and in which the sequence of the tale is 
in the same three distinct steps. 



II. The Animal Tale 

The animal tale includes many of the most pleasing 
children's tales. Indeed some authorities would go so 
far as to trace all fairy tales back to some ancestor of 
an animal tale; and in many cases this certainly can be 
done just as we trace Three Bears back to Scrapefoot. 
The animal tale is either an old beast tale, such as 
Scrapefoot or Old Sultan; or a fairy tale which is an 
elaborated development of a fable, such as The Country 
Mouse and the City Mouse or the tales of Reynard the 
Fox or Grimm's The King of the Birds, and The Spar- 
row and His Four Children; or it is a purely imaginary 
creation, such as Kipling's The Elephant's Child or 
Andersen's The Bronze Pig. 

The beast tale is a very old form which was a story 
of some successful primitive hunt or of some primi- 
tive man's experience with animals in which he looked 
up to the beast as a brother superior to himself in 
strength, courage, endurance, swiftness, keen scent, 



212 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

vision, or cunning. Later, in more civilized society, 
when men became interested in problems of conduct, 
animals were introduced to point the moral of the tale, 
and we have the fable. The fable resulted when a 
truth was stated in concrete story form. When this 
truth was in gnomic form, stated in general terms, it 
became compressed into the proverb. The fable was 
brief, intense, and concerned with the distinguishing 
characteristics of the animal characters, who were 
endowed with human traits. Such were the Fables 
of Mso'p. Then followed the beast epic, such as Rey- 
nard the Fox, in which the personality of the animals 
became less prominent and the animal characters be- 
came types of humanity. Later, the beast tale took 
the form of narratives of hunters, where the interest 
centered in the excitement of the hunt and in the vic- 
tory of the hunter. With the thirst for universal 
knowledge in the days following Bacon there gradu- 
ally grew a desire to learn also about animals. Then 
followed animal anecdotes, the result of observation 
and imagination, often regarding the mental pro- 
cesses of animals. With the growth of the scientific 
spirit the interest in natural history developed. The 
modern animal story since 1850 has a basis of natural 
science, but it also seeks to search the motive back of 
the action, it is a psychological romance. The early 
modern animal tales such as Black Beauty show sym- 
pathy with animals, but their psychology is human. 
In Seton Thompson's Kragy which is a masterpiece, 



CLASSES OF FAIRY TALES 213 

the interest centers about the personaHty and the 
mentahty of the animal and his purely physical char- 
acteristics. Perhaps it is true that these physical 
characteristics are somewhat imaginary and over- 
drawn and that overmuch freedom has been used in 
interpreting these physical signs. In Kipling's tales 
we have a later evolution of the animal tale. His ani- 
mals possess personality in emotion and thought. In 
the forest-friends of Mowgli we have humanized ani- 
mals possessing human power of thinking and of ex- 
pressing. In real life animal motives seem simple, one 
dominant motive crowds out all others. But Kip- 
ling's animals show very complex motives, they reason 
and judge more than our knowledge of animal life 
justifies. In the Just- So Stories Kipling has given 
us the animal pourquois tale with a basis of scientific 
truth. Of these delightful fairy tales, The Elephant* s 
Child and How the Camel Got His Hump may be used 
in the kindergarten. Perhaps the latest evolution of 
the animal tale is by Charles G. D. Roberts. The ani- 
mal characters in his Kindred of the Wild are given 
animal characteristics. They have become interesting 
as exhibiting these traits and not as typifying human 
motives; they show an animal psychology. The tales 
have a scientific basis, and the interest is centered in 
this and not in an exaggeration of it. 

Having viewed the animal tale as a growth let us 
look now at a few individual tales : — 

One of the most pleasing animal tales is Henny 



2U A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

Penny, or Chicken Lichen, as it is sometimes called, 
told by Jacobs in English Fairy Tales. Here the 
enterprising little hen, new to the ways of the world, 
ventures to take a walk. Because a grain of corn falls 
on her top-knot, she believes the sky is falling, her walk 
takes direction, and thereafter she proceeds to tell 
the king. She takes with her all she meets, who, like 
her, are credulous, — Cocky Locky, Ducky Daddies, 
Goosey Poosey, and Turky Lurky, — until they meet 
Foxy Woxy, who leads them into his cave, never to 
come out again. This is similar to the delightful 
Jataka tale of The Foolish Timid Rabbit, which before 
has been outlined for telling, which has been re-told 
by Ellen C. Babbit. In this tale a Rabbit, asleep under 
a palm tree, heard a noise, and thought " the earth 
was all breaking up." So he ran until he met another 
Rabbit, and then a hundred other Rabbits, a Deer, 
a Fox, an Elephant, and at last a Lion. All the ani- 
mals except the Lion accepted the Rabbit's news and 
followed. But the Lion made a stand and asked for 
facts. He ran to the hill in front of the animals and 
roared three times. He traced the tale back to the 
first Rabbit, and taking him on his back, ran with him 
to the foot of the hill where the palm tree grew. There, 
under the tree, lay a cocoanut. The Lion explained the 
sound the Rabbit had heard, then ran back and told 
the other animals, and they all stopped running. 
Brother Rabbit Takes Some Exercise, a tale from 
Nights with Uncle Remus is very similar to Henny 



CLASSES OF FAIRY TALES 215 

Penny and could be used at the same time. It is also 
similar to Grimm's Wolf and Seven Kids, the English 
Story of Three Pigs, the Irish The End of the World, 
and an Italian popular tale. 

The Sheep and the Pig, adapted from the Scandi- 
navian by Miss Bailey in For the Children's Hour, 
given also in Dasent's Tales from the Field, is a delight- 
fully vivacious and humorous tale which reminds one 
of Henny Penny. A Sheep and Pig started out to find 
a home, to live together. They traveled until they met 
a Rabbit and then followed this dialogue : — 

R. "Where are you going?" 

S. and P. "We are going to build us a house." 

R. "May I live with you?" 

S. and P. "What can you do to help?" 

The Rabbit scratched his leg with his left hind foot for 
a minute and said, " I can gnaw pegs with my sharp 
teeth and I can put them in with my paws." *' Good," 
said the Sheep and the Pig, '' you may come with 
us! " Then they met a gray Goose who could pull 
moss and stuff it in cracks, and a Cock who could crow 
early and waken all. So they all found a house and 
lived in it happily. 

The Spanish Medio Pollito, or Little Half -Chick, is 
another accumulative animal tale similar to Henny 
Penny, and one which is worthy of university study. 
The disobedient but energetic hero who went off to 
Madrid is very appealing and constantly amusing, 
and the tale possesses unusual beauty. The interest 



216 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

centers in the character. The beauty Hes in the setting 
of the adventures, as Medio PolKto came to a stream, 
to a large chestnut tree, to the wind, to the soldiers 
outside the city gates, to the King's Palace at Madrid, 
and to the King's cook, until in the end he reached the 
high point of immortalization as the weather-vane of 
a church steeple. 

The Story of Three Pigs could contend with The 
Three Bears for the position of ideal story for little 
people. It suits them even better than The Three 
Bears, perhaps because they can identify themselves 
more easily with the hero, who is a most winning, 
clever individual, though a Pig. The children know 
nothing of the standards of the Greek drama, but they 
recognize a good thing; and when the actors in their 
story are great in interest and in liveliness, they re- 
spond with a corresponding appreciation. The dra- 
matic element in The Three Pigs is strong and all chil- 
dren love to dramatize it. The story is the Italian 
Three Goslings, the Negro Tiny Pig, the Indian Lamhi- 
Jcin, and the German The Wolf and Seven Kids. This 
tale is given by Andrew Lang in his Green Fairy Book. 
The most satisfactory presentation of the story is 
given by Leslie Brooke in his Golden Goose Book. The 
German version occurred in an old poem, Reinhari 
Fuchsy in which the Kid sees the Wolf through a chink. 
Originally the characters must have been Kids, for 
little pigs do not have hair on their " chinny chin 
chins." 



CLASSES OF FAIRY TALES 217 

One of the earliest modern animal tales is The Good- 
N aimed Bear,^ by Richard Hengist Home, the Eng- 
lish critic. This tale was written in 1846, just when 
men were beginning to gain a greater knowledge of 
animal life. It is both psychological and imaginative. 
It was brought to the attention of the English public 
in a criticism, On Some Illustrated Christmas Boohs, '^ 
by Thackeray, who considered it one of the " wittiest, 
pleasantest, and kindest of books, and an admirable 
story." It is now out of print, but it seems to be 
worthy of being preserved and reprinted. The story 
is the autobiography of a Bear, who first tells about 
his interesting experiences as a Baby Bear. He first 
gives to Gretchen and the children gathered about him 
an account of his experience when his Mother first 
taught him to walk alone. 

III. The Humorous Tale 

The humorous tale is one of the most pleasing to the 
little child. It pleases everybody, but it suits him 
especially because the essence of humor is a mixture of 
love and surprise, and both appeal to the child com- 
pletely. Humor brings joy into the world, so does 
the little child, their very existence is a harmony. 
Humor sees contrasts, shows good sense, and feels 

* See Appendix. 

2 William M. Thackeray, Miscellanies, v. Boston: James Osgood 
& Co., 1873. " Titmarsh among Pictures and Books"; "On Some 
Illustrated Christmas Books," 1846. 



218 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

compassion. It stimulates curiosity. Its laughter is 
impersonal and has a social and spiritual effect. It 
acts like fresh air, it clarifies the atmosphere of the 
mind and it enables one to see things in a sharply de- 
fined light. It reveals character; it breaks up a situa- 
tion, reconstructs it, and so views life, interprets it. 
It plays with life, it frees the spirit, and it invigorates 
the soul. 

Speaking of humor, Thackeray, in "A Grumble 
About Christmas Books," 1847, considered that the 
motto for humor should be the same as the talisman 
worn by the Prioress in Chaucer: — 

About hire arm a broche of gold f ul shene. 
On which was first ywritten a crowned A, 
And after. Amor vincit omnia. 

He continued: " The works of the real humorist al- 
ways have this sacred press-mark, I think. Try 
Shakespeare, first of all, Cervantes, Addison, poor 
Dick Steele, and dear Harry Fielding, the tender and 
delightful Jean Paul, Sterne, and Scott, — and Love 
is the humorist's best characteristic and gives that 
charming ring to their laughter in which all the good- 
natured world joins in chorus." 

The humorous element for children appears in the 
repetition of phrases such as we find in Three Bears, 
Three Pigs, and Three Billy-Goats; in the contrast in 
the change of voice so noticeable also in these three 
tales; in the contrast of ideas so conspicuous in Kip- 
ling's Elephant's Child; and in the element of surprise 



CLASSES OF FAIRY TALES 219 

so evident when Johnny Cake is eaten by the Fox, or 
when Little Hen eats the bread, or when Little Pig 
outwits the Wolf. The humorous element for chil- 
dren also lies in the incongruous, the exaggerated, or 
in the grotesque, so well displayed in Lear's Nonsense 
Rhymes, and much of the charm of Alice in Wonder- 
land. The humorous element must change accord- 
ingly for older children, who become surprised less 
easily, and whose tales therefore, in order to surprise, 
must have more clever ideas and more subtle fancy. 

The Musicians of Bremen is a good type of humor- 
ous tale. It shows all the elements of true humor. Its 
philosophy is healthy; it views life as a whole and 
escapes tragedy by seeing the comic situation in the 
midst of trouble. It is full of the social good-com- 
radeship which is a condition of humor. It possesses 
a suspense that is unusual, and is a series of surprises 
with one grand surprise to the robbers at their feast 
as its climax. The Donkey is a noble hero who breathes 
a spirit of courage like that of the fine Homeric heroes. 
His achievement of a home is a mastery that pleases 
children. And the message of the tale, which after all, is 
its chief worth — that there ought to be room in the 
world for the aged and the worn out, and that " The 
guilty flee when no man pursue th " — appeals to 
their compassion and their good sense. The variety of 
noises furnished by the different characters is a pleas- 
ing repetition with variation that is a special element 
of humor; and the grand chorus of music leaves no 



220 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

doubt as to the climax. We must view life with these 
four who are up against the facts of life, and whose 
lot presents a variety of contrast. The Donkey, in- 
capacitated because of old age, had the courage to set 
out on a quest. He met the Dog who could hunt no 
longer, stopping in the middle of the road, panting for 
breath; the Cat who had only stumps for teeth, sitting 
in the middle of the road, wearing an unhappy heart 
behind a face dismal as three rainy Sundays; and the 
Rooster who just overheard the cook say he was to be 
made into soup next Sunday, sitting on the top of the 
gate crowing his last as loud as he could crow. The 
Donkey, to these musicians he collected, spoke as a 
leader and as a true humorist. 

In a simple tale like The Bremen Town Musicians it 
is surprising how much of interest can develop : the ad- 
venture in the wood; the motif of some one going to a 
tree-top and seeing from there a light afar off, which 
appears in Hop-o' -my-Thumh and in many other 
tales; the example of cooperation, where all had a unity 
of purpose; an example of a good complete short-story 
form which illustrates introduction, setting, characters 
and dialogue — all these proclaim this one of the fine 
old stories. In its most dramatic form, and to Jacobs 
its most impressive one, it appears in the Celtic tales 
as Jack and His Comrades. It may have been derived 
from Old Sultan, a Grimm tale which is somewhat sim- 
ilar to The Wolf and the Hungry Dog, in Steinhowel, 
1487. How Jack Sought His Fortune is an English tale 



CLASSES OF FAIRY TALES 221 

of cooperation which is similar but not nearly so pleas- 
ing. A Danish tale of cooperation, Pleiades^ is found 
in Lansing's Fairy Tales. How Six Traveled Through 
the World is a Grimm tale which, though suited to 
older children, contains the same general theme. 

Very many of the tales suited to kindergarten chil- 
dren which have been mentioned in various chapters, 
contain a large element of humor. The nonsense drolls 
are a type distinct from the humorous tale proper, yet 
distinctly humorous. Such are the realistic Lazy 
Jack) Henny Penny, and Billy Bobtail. Then since 
repetition is an element of humor, many accumula- 
tive tales rank as humorous: such as Lambikin, The 
Old Woman and Her Pig, Medio Pollito, The Straw 
Oxy Johnny Cake, and Three Billy-Goats. Among the 
humorous tales proper are Andersen's Snow Man; 
The Cat and the Mouse in Partnership; The Rabbit 
Who Wanted Red Wings; The Elephant's Child; and 
very many of the Uncle Remus Tales, such as Why 
the Hawk Catches Chickens, Brother Rabbit and Brother 
Tiger, and Heyo, House! all in Uncle Remus and the 
Little Boy. The Story of Little Black Mingo in Tales of 
Laughter, is a very attractive humorous tale, but it is 
more suited to the child of the second grade. 

Drakesbill is a French humorous accumulative tale 
with a plot constructed similarly to that of the Cossack 
Straw Ox. Drakesbill, who was so tiny they called him 
Bill Drake, was a great worker and soon saved a hun- 
dred dollars in gold which he lent to the King. But as 



222 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

the King never offered to pay, one morning Drakesbill 
set out, singing as he went, " Quack, quack, quack, 
when shall I get my money back? ** To all the objects 
he met and to their questions he replied, *' I am going 
to the King to ask him to pay me what he owes me." 
When they begged, '* Take me with you! '* he was 
willing, but he said, " You must make yourself small, 
get into my mouth, and creep under my tongue! " He 
arrived at the palace with his companions concealed 
in his mouth: a Fox, a Ladder, Laughing River, and 
Wasp-Nest. On asking to see the King, he was not 
escorted with dignity but sent to the poultry-yard, to 
the turkeys and chickens who fought him. Then he 
surprised them by calling forth the Fox who killed the 
fowls. When he was thrown into a well, he called out 
the Ladder to help him. When about to be thrown 
into the fire, he called out the River who overwhelmed 
the rest and left him serenely swimming. When sur- 
rounded by the King's men and their swords he 
called out the Wasp-Nest who drove away all but 
Drakesbill, leaving him free to look for his money. 
But he found none as the King had spent all. So he 
seated himself upon the throne and became King. The 
element of humor here, as has been mentioned pre- 
viously, is that Drakesbill, after every rebuff of fortune 
maintained his happy, fresh vivacity, and triumph- 
antly repeated his one cry, " Quack, quack, quack, 
when shall I get my money back? " There is humor, 
too, in the repetition of dialogue, as on his way to the 



CLASSES OF FAIRY TALES 223 

King he met the various characters and talked to them. 
Humor Hes also in the real lively surprises which 
Drakesbill so effectively gave during his visit to the 
King. One can see how this tale might have been a 
satire reflecting upon a spendthrift King. 



IV. The Realistic Tale 

The realistic fairy tale has a great sympathy with 
humble life and desires to reproduce faithfully all life 
worth while. The spirit of it has been expressed by 
Kipling — 

each in his separate star. 
Shall draw the Thing as he sees It, for the God of Things as They are. 

Sometimes the realistic story has a scientific spirit and 
interest. A realistic tale that is good will present not 
only what is true but what is possible, probable, or 
inevitable, making its truth impressive. Very often it 
does not reach this ideal. A transcript of actual life 
may be selected, but that is a photograph and not a 
picture with a strong purpose to make one point, and 
with artistic design. The characters, though true to 
life, may be Hfeless and colorless, and their doings and 
what happens to them uninteresting. For this reason, 
many modern writers of tales for children, respecting 
the worth of the realistic, neglect to comply with what 
the realistic demands, and produce insipid, uncon- 
vincing tales. The realistic tale should deal with the 
simple and the ordinary rather than with the excep- 



224 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

tional; and the test is not how much, but how Httle, 
creduhty it arouses. 

Grimm's Hans in Luck is a perfect reaUstic tale, as 
are Grimm's Clever Elsa and the Norse Three Sillies, 
although these tales are suited to slightly older chil- 
dren. The drolls often appear among the realistic 
tales, as if genuine humor were more fresh when re- 
lated to the things of actual life. The English Lazy 
Jack is a delightful realistic droll which contains 
motifs that appear frequently among the tales. The 
Touchstone motif of a humble individual causing 
nobility to laugh appears in Grimm's Dummling and 
His Golden Goose. It appears also in Zerhino the Savage, 
a most elaborated Neapolitan tale retold by Laboulaye 
in his Last Fairy Tales; a tale full of humor, wit, and 
satire that would delight the cultured man of the 
world. 

In Lazy Jack the setting is in humble life. A poor 
mother lived on the common with her indolent son and 
managed to earn a livelihood by spinning. One day 
the mother lost patience and threatened to send from 
home this idle son if he did not get work. So he set 
out. Each day he returned to his mother with his day's 
earnings. The humor lies in what he brought, in how 
he brought it, and in what happened to it; in the ad- 
monition of his mother, " You should have done so and 
so," and Jack's one reply, ** I'll do so another time "; 
in Jack's literal use of his mother's admonition, and the 
catastrophe it brought him on the following day, and 



CLASSES OF FAIRY TALES 225 

on each successive day, as he brought home a piece of 
money, a jar of milk, a cream cheese, a tom-cat, a 
shoulder of mutton, and at last a donkey. The humor 
lies in the contrast between what Jack did and what 
anybody " with sense " knows he ought to have done, 
until when royalty beheld him carrying the donkey on 
his shoulders, with legs sticking up in the air, it could 
bear no more, and burst into laughter. This is a good 
realistic droll to use because it impresses the truth, 
that even a little child must reason and judge and use 
his own common sense. 

The Story of the Little Red Hen is a realistic tale 
which presents a simple picture of humble thrift. An- 
dersen's Tin Soldier is a realistic tale which gives an 
adventure that might happen to a real tin soldier. The 
Old Woman and her Pig, whose history has been given 
under The Accumulative Tale, is realistic. Its theme is 
the simple experience of an aged peasant who swept 
her house, who had the unusual much-coveted pleasure 
of finding a dime, who went to market and bought a 
Pig for so small a sum. But on the way home, as the 
Pig became contrary when reaching a stile, and re- 
fused to go, the Old Woman had to seek aid. So she 
asked the Dog, the Stick, the Fire, etc. She asked aid 
first from the nearest at hand; and each object asked, 
in its turn sought help from the next higher power. 
One great source of pleasure in this tale is that each 
object whose aid is sought is asked to do the thing its 
nature would compel it to do — the Dog to bite, the 



226 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

Stick to beat, etc.; and each successive object chosen 
is the one which, by the law of its nature, is a master 
to the preceding one. The Dog, by virtue of abihty to 
bite, has power over the Pig; the Stick has abihty to 
master the Dog; and Water in its power to quench is 
master over Fire. Because of this intimate connec- 
tion of cause and effect, this tale contributes in an 
unusual degree to the development of the child's rea- 
son and memory. He may remember the sequence of 
the plot or remake the tale if he forgets, by reasoning 
out the association between the successive objects 
from whom aid was asked. It is through this associa- 
tion that the memory is exercised. 

How Two Beetles Took Lodgings^ in Tales of Laugh- 
ter, is a realistic story which has a scientific spirit and 
interest. Its basis of truth belongs to the realm of na- 
ture study. Its narration of how two Beetles set up 
housekeeping by visiting an ant-hill and helping them- 
selves to the home and furnishings of the Ants, would 
be very well suited either to precede or to follow the 
actual study of an ant-hill by the children. The story 
gives a good glimpse of the home of the Ants, of their 
manner of living, and of the characteristics of the Ants 
and Beetles. It is not science mollified, but a good 
story full of life and humor, with a basis of scientific 
truth. 

Many tales not realistic contain a large realistic 
element. The fine old romantic tales, such as Cin- 
derellaf Sleeping Beauty y and Bremen Town Musicians, 



CLASSES OF FAIRY TALES 227 

have a large realistic element. In The Little Elves we 
have the realistic picture of a simple German home. 
In Beauty and the Beast we have a realistic glimpse 
of the three various ways the wealthy merchant's 
daughters accommodated themselves to their father's 
loss of fortune, which reminds us of a parallel theme in 
Shakespeare's King Lear. In Red Riding Hood we 
have the realistic starting out of a little girl to visit 
her grandmother. This realistic element appeals to 
the child because, as we have noted, it accords with 
his experience, and it therefore seems less strange. 

In Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse the setting is realis- 
tic but becomes transformed into the romantic when 
natural doings of everyday life take on meaning from 
the unusual happening in the tale. It is realistic for 
Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse to live in a little house, 
to get some corn, to make a pudding, and to put it on to 
boil. But when the pot tumbled over and scalded 
Titty, the romantic began. The stool which was real 
and common and stood by the door became trans- 
formed with animation, it talked: "Titty's dead, and 
so I weep "; and it hopped! Then a broom caught the 
same animation from the same theme, and swept; a 
door jarred; a window creaked; an old form ran round 
the house; a walnut tree shed its leaves; a little bird 
moulted his pretty feathers; a little girl spilled her 
milk; a man tumbled off his ladder; and the walnut 
tree fell with a crash, upsetting everything and bury- 
ing Titty in the ruins. They all learned to convey the 



228 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

same message. The common and customary became 
uncommon and unusual with extraordinary hfe, feel- 
ing, and lively movement. 

Other romantic tales with a large realistic element 
are The Three Bears, The Three Pigs, and The Three 
Billy-Goats, animal tales which of necessity must be 
largely realistic, for their foundation is in the facts of 
the nature, habits, and traits of the animal characters 
they portray. 

V. The Romantic Tale 

The romantic tale reflects emotion and it contains 
adventure and the picturesque; it deals with dreams, 
distant places, the sea, the sky, and objects of wonder 
touched with beauty and strangeness. The purpose of 
the romantic is to arouse emotion, pity, or the sense of 
the heroic; and it often exaggerates character and in- 
cidents beyond the normal. The test of the romantic 
tale as well as of the realistic tale is in the reality it 
possesses. This reality it will possess, not only because 
it is true, but because it is also true to life. And it is to 
be remembered that because of the unusual setting in 
a romantic tale the truth it presents stands out very 
clearly with much impressiveness. Red Riding Hood 
is a more impressive tale than The Three Bears. 

Cinderella is a good type of the old romantic tale. 
It has a never-ending attraction for children just as it 
has had for all peoples of the world; for this tale has as 
many as three hundred and forty-five variants, which 



CLASSES OF FAIRY TALES 229 

have been examined by Miss Cox. In these variants 
there are many common incidents, such as the hearth 
abode, the helpful animal, the heroine disguise, the 
ill-treated heroine, the lost shoe, the love-sick prince, 
magic dresses, the magic tree, the threefold flight, the 
false bride, and many others. But the one incident 
which claims the tale as a Cinderella tale proper, is the 
recognition of the heroine by means of her shoe. In 
the Greek Rhodo'pe, the slipper is carried off by an 
eagle and dropped into the lap of the King of Egypt, 
who seeks and marries the owner. In the Hindu tale 
the Rajah's daughter loses her slipper in the forest 
where it is found by the Prince. The interpretation of 
Cinderella is that the Maiden, the Dawn, is dull and 
gray away from the brightness of the sun. The Sisters 
are the Clouds that shadow the Dawn, and the Step- 
mother is Night. The Dawn hurries away from the 
pursuing Prince, the Sun, who, after a long search, 
overtakes her in her glorious robes of sunset. 

This tale is the Hindu Sodewa Bai, the Zuni Poor 
Turkey Girl, and the English Rushen Coatiey Cap-o*- 
Rushes, and Catskin. Catskin, which Mr. Burchell told 
to the children of the Vicar of Wakefield, is considered 
by Newell as the oldest of the Cinderella types, ap- 
pearing in Straparola in 1550, while Cinderella ap- 
peared first in Basile in 1637. Catskin, in ballad form 
as given by Halliwell, was printed in Aldermary 
Churchyard, England, in 1720; and the form as given 
by Jacobs well illustrates how the prose tale developed 



230 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

from the old ballad. The two most common forms of 
Cinderella are Perrault's and Grimm's, either of which 
is suited to the very Httle child. Perrault's Cinderella 
shows about twenty distinct differences from the 
Grimm tale: — 

(1) It omits the Mother's death-bed injunction to Cin- 
derella. 
('2) It omits the wooden shoes and the cloak. 

(3) The Stepmother assigns more modern tasks. It omits 

the pease-and-beans task. 

(4) It shows Cinderella sleeping in a garret instead of on 

the hearth. 

(5) It omits the Father. 

(6) It omits the hazel bough. 

(7) It omits the three wishes. 

(8) It substitutes the fairy Godmother for the hazel tree 

and the friendly doves. 

(9) It substitutes transformation for tree-shaking. 

(10) It omits the episode of the pear tree and of the pigeon- 

house. 

(11) It omits the use of pitch and axe-cutting. 
(1'2) It omits the false bride and the two doves. 

(13) It substitutes two nights at the ball for three nights. 

(14) It makes C. forgiving and generous at the end. The 

Sisters are not punished. 

(15) It contains slippers of glass instead of slippers of gold. 

(16) It simplifies the narrative, improves the structure, 

and puts in the condition, which is a keystone to 
the structure. 

(17) It has no poetical refrain. 
(18^ It is more direct and dramatic. 

(19) It draws the characters more clearly. 
(^20) Is it not more artificial and conventional? 

This contrast shows the Grimm tale to be the more 
poetical, while it is the more complex, and contains 



CLASSES OF FAIRY FALES 231 

more barbarous and gruesome elements unsuited to 
the child of to-day. Of the two forms, the Grimm tale 
seems the superior tale, however, and if rewritten in a 
literary form suited to the child, might become even 
preferable. 

Sleeping Beauty y which is another romantic tale that 
might claim to be the most popular fairy tale, has for 
its theme the long sleep of winter and the awakening of 
spring. The Earth goddess, pricked by winter's dart, 
falls into a deep sleep from which she is awakened by 
the Sun who searches far for her. This tale is similar to 
the Norse Balder and the Greek Persephone. Some of 
its incidents appear also in The Two Brothers, an Egyp- 
tian tale of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Seti II, in which 
the Hathors who pronounce the fate of the Prince cor- 
respond to the wicked old Fairy. The spindle whose 
prick caused slumber is the arrow that wounded 
Achilles, the thorn which pricked Siegfried, the mistle- 
toe which wounded Balder, and the poisoned nail of 
the demon in Surya Bai. In the northern form of the 
story we find the ivy, which is the one plant that can 
endure winter's touch. The theme of the long sleep 
occurs in the mediaeval legend of The Seven Sleepers 
of EphesuSy in the English The King of England and 
His Three Sons, poetically as Tennyson has given it 
in his Day-Drearriy and in the Story of Brunhildey in 
Siegfried. Here a hedge of flames encircles Brunhilde 
who is awakened at the touch of Siegfried's magic 
sword, just as Sleeping Beauty is awakened by the 



232 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

Prince's kiss. The kiss may be a survival of an ancient 
form of worship of some local goddess. In the Hindu 
Panch-Rhul Ranee, seven ditches surmounted by seven 
hedges of spears, surround the heroine. Of the Per- 
rault and Grimm versions of Sleeping Beauty, the Per- 
rault version is long and complex because it contains 
the minor tale of the cruel stepmother added to the 
main tale, while the Grimm Briar Rose is a model of 
structure easily separated into ten leading episodes. 
Sleeping Beauty appeared in Basile's Pentamerone 
where there is given the beautiful incident of the baby 
sucking the spike of flax out of its sleeping mother's 
fingers. The Perrault version agrees with that of Ba- 
sile in naming the twins, who are Sun and Moon in 
the Pentamerone^ Day and Dawn. 

Red Riding Hood is another romantic tale ^ that 
could claim to be the one most popular fairy tale of all 
fairy tales. Similar tales occur in the story of the 
Greek Kronos swallowing his children, in the Algon- 
quin legend repeated in Hiawatha, and in an Aryan 
story of a Dragon swallowing the sun and being killed 
by the sun-god, Indra. Red Riding Hood appeals to a 
child's sense of fear, it gives a thrill which if not too 
intense, is distinctly pleasing. But it pleases less no- 
ticeably perhaps because of its atmosphere of love and 
service, and because it presents a picture of a dear 

* A few romantic tales for the first grade are treated in the 
Appendix: Puss-in-Boots, Lord Peter, Tom Thumb, Little Thumb, 
and Snow White and Rose Red. 



CLASSES OF FAIRY TALES 233 

little maid. The Grandmother's gift of love to the 
child, the bright red hood, the mother's parting in- 
junction, the Wolf's change of aspect and voice to suit 
the child — all these directly and indirectly emphasize 
love, tenderness, and appreciation of simple childhood. 
The child's errand of gratitude and love, the play in 
the wood, the faith in the woodcutter's presence — all 
are characteristic of a typical little maid and one to be 
loved. There is in the tale too, the beauty of the wood 
— flowers, birds, and the freshness of the open air. 
The ending of the tale is varied. In Perrault the Wolf 
ate Grandmother and then ate Red Riding Hood. In 
Grimm one version gives it that the Hunter, hearing 
snoring, went to see what the old lady needed. He cut 
open the Wolf, and Grandmother and Red Riding 
Hood became alive. He filled the Wolf with stones. 
When the Wolf awoke, he tried to run, and died. All 
three were happy; the Hunter took the skin, Grand- 
mother had her cake and wine, and Red Riding Hood 
was safe and had her little girl's lesson of obedience. 
Another Grimm ending is that Little Red-Cap reached 
the Grandmother before the Wolf, and after telling her 
that she had met him, they both locked the door. Then 
they filled a trough with water in which the sausages 
had been boiled. When the Wolf tried to get in and got 
up on the roof, he was enticed by the odor, and fell 
into the trough. A great deal of freedom has been used 
in re-telling the ending of this tale, usually with the 
purpose of preventing the Wolf from eating Red Rid- 



234 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

ing Hood. In regard to the conclusion of Red Riding 
Hoodf Thackeray said: ** I am reconciled to the Wolf 
eating Red Riding Hood because I have given up 
believing this is a moral tale altogether and am con- 
tent to receive it as a wild, odd, surprising, and not 
unkindly fairy story." 

The interpretation of Red Riding Hood — which the 
children need not know — is that the evening Sun goes 
to see her Grandmother, the Earth, who is the first to 
be swallowed up by the Wolf of Night and Darkness. 
The red cloak is the twilight glow. The Hunter may 
be the rising Sun that rescues all from Night. Red 
Riding Hood has been charmingly elaborated in 
Tieck's Romantic Poems, and a similar story appears 
in a Swedish popular song, Jungfrun i'Blaskagen, in 
Folkviser 3; 68, 69. 



VI, Vn. The Old Tale and the Modern Tale 

The old fairy tale is to be distinguished from the 
modern fairy tale. Most of the tales selected have been 
old tales because they possess the characteristics suited 
to the little child. The modern fairy tale may be said 
to begin with Andersen's Fairy Tales. — Since Andersen 
has been referred to frequently and as a study of The 
Tin Soldier has already been given, Andersen's work can 
receive no more detailed treatment here. — The modern 
fairy tale, since the time of Andersen, has yet to learn 
simplicity and sincerity. It often is long and involved 



CLASSES OF FAIRY TALES 235 

and presents a multiplicity of images that is confusing. 
It lacks the great art qualities of the old tale, the cen- 
tral unity and harmony of character and plot. The 
idea must be the soul of the narrative, and the problem 
is to make happen to the characters things that are 
expressive of the idea. The story must hold by its in- 
terest, and must be sincere and inevitable to be con- 
vincing. It must understand that the method of ex- 
pression must be the method of suggestion and not that 
of detail. The old tale set no boundaries to its sug- 
gestion. It used concrete artistry; but because the 
symbol expressed less it implied more. The modern 
tale is more definitely intentional and it often sets 
boundaries to its suggestion because the symbol ex- 
presses so much. Frequently it emphasizes the satiric 
and critical element, and its humor often is heavy and 
clumsy. To be literature, as has been pointed out, 
besides characters, plot, setting, and dialogue, a classic 
must present truth; it must have emotion and imagi- 
nation molded with beauty into the form of language; 
and it must have the power of a classic to bestow upon 
the mind a permanent enrichment. Any examination 
of the modern fairy tale very frequently shows a failure 
to meet these requirements. 

The modern tale is not so poor, however, when we 
mention such tales as Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonder- 
land, Oscar Wilde's Happy Prince, Alice Brown's 
Gradual Fairy, Frances Browne's Prince FairyfooU 
Miss Mulock's Little Lame Prince, Barrie's Peter Pan, 



236 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

Jean Ingelow's Mopsa, the Fairy and The Ouphe in the 
Wood, Field's The Story of Claus, Stockton's Old Pipes 
and the Dryad, Kingsley's Water Babies, Ruskin's King 
of the Golden River, Collodi's Pinocchio, Maeterlinck's 
Blue- Bird, Kipling's Just-So Stories and the tales of the 
Jungle Books, Selma Lagerlof's Wonderful Adventures 
of Nils, the Uncle Remus Tales of Harris, etc. But these 
classics are, with a few exceptions, the richness of the 
primary and elementary literature. The modern fairy 
tale suited to the kindergarten child, is at a disadvan- 
tage, for most likely it is hidden away in some maga- 
zine, waiting for appreciation to bring some attention 
to it. And in these complex modern days it is difficult 
to secure a tale whose simplicity suits the little child. 
Among the best tales for little people are Miss Har- 
rison's Hans and the Four Giants and Little Beta and 
the Lame Giant. In Little Beta and the Lame Giant a 
natural child is placed in unusual surroundings, where 
the gentleness of the giant and the strength of love in 
the little girl present strong contrasts that please and 
satisfy. The Sea Fairy and the Land Fairy in Some 
Fairies I have Met, by Mrs. Stawell, though possessing 
much charm and beauty, is too complicated for the 
little people. It is a quarrel of a Sea Fairy and a Land 
Fairy. It is marked by good structure, it presents a 
problem in the introduction, has light fancy suited to 
its characters, piquant dialogue, good description, 
visualized expressions, and it presents distinct pic- 
tures. Its method is direct and it gets immediately 



CLASSES OF FAIRY TALES 237 

into the story. Its method of personification, which in 
this, perhaps the best story of the collection, is rather 
delightful, in some of the others is less happy and is 
open to question. How Double Darling's Old Shoes 
Became Lady Slippers, by Candace Wheeler, in >S^. 
Nicholas, is a really delightful modern fairy story 
suited to be read to the little child. It is the experience 
of a little girl with new shoes and her dream about her 
old shoes. But the story lacks in structure, there is 
not the steady rise to one great action, the episode of 
the Santa Claus tree is somewhat foreign and unneces- 
sary, and the conclusion falls flat because the end 
seems to continue after the problem has been worked 
out. 

In The Dwarfs Tailor, by Underbill, there is much 
conversation about things and an indirect use of lan- 
guage, such as " arouse them to reply " and " continued 
to question," which is tedious. The humor is at times 
heavy, quoting proverbs, such as "The pitcher that 
goes too often to the well is broken at last." The climax 
is without interest. The scene of the Dwarfs around 
the fire — in which the chief element of humor seems 
to be that the Tailor gives the Dwarf a slap — is rather 
foolish than funny. The details are trite and the trans- 
formation misses being pleasing. Again there is not 
much plot and the story does not hold by its interest. 
In The Golden Egg and the Cock of Gold, by Scudder, 
the conversation is not always to the point, is some- 
what on the gossipy order, is trite, and the suspense 



238 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

is not held because the climax is told beforehand. Mrs. 
Burton Harrison's Old Fashioned Fairy Book is very 
pleasing, but it was written for her two sons, who were 
older children. It has the fault of presenting too great 
a variety of images and it lacks simplicity of structure. 
Its Juliet, or The Little White Mouse , which seems to 
be a re-telling of D'Aulnoy's Good Little Mouse, con- 
tains a good description of the old-time fairy dress. 
Deep Sea Violets, perhaps the best-written story in 
the book, gives a good picture of a maiden taken to a 
Merman's realm. Rosy's Stay-at-Home Parties has de- 
lightful imagination similar to that of Andersen. 

Five Little Pigs, by Katherine Pyle, is a delightful 
little modern story, which could be used with interest 
by the child who knows The Story of Three Little Pigs, 
The Little Rooster, by Southey, is a very pleasing real- 
istic tale of utmost simplicity which, because of its 
talking animals, might be included here. A criticism 
of this tale, together with a list of realistic stories con- 
taining some realistic fairy tales suited to the kinder- 
garten, may be read in Educational Foundations, 
October, 1914. The Hen That Hatched Ducks, by 
Harriet Beecher Stowe, is a pleasing and sprightly 
humorous tale of Madam Feathertop and her surpris- 
ing family of eight ducks, and of Master Gray Cock, 
Dame Scratchard and Dr. Peppercorn. A modern tale 
that is very acceptable to the children is The Cock, 
the Mouse, and the Little Red Hen, by Felicite Lefevre, 
which is a re-telling of the Story of the Little Red Hen 



CLASSES OF FAIRY TALES 239 

combined with the story of The Little Rid Hin, In this 
tale the two old classic stories are preserved but re- 
experienced, with such details improvised as a clever 
child would himself naturally make. These additional 
details appeal to his imagination and give life-likeness 
and freshness to the tale, but they do not detract 
from the impression of the original or confuse the 
identity of the characters in the old tales. 

One must not forget Peter Rabbit — that captivating, 
realistic fairy tale by Beatrix Potter — and his com- 
panions, Benjamin Bunny, Pigling Bland, Tom Kitten, 
and the rest, of which children never tire. Peter Rab- 
bit undoubtedly holds a place as a kindergarten classic. 
In somewhat the same class of merry animal tales is 
Tommy and the Wishing Stone, a series of tales by 
Thornton Burgess, in St. Nicholas, 1915. Here the 
child enjoys the novel transformation of becoming a 
Musk-rat, a Ruffed Grouse, a Toad, Honker the Goose, 
and other interesting personages. A modern fairy tale 
which is received gladly by children is Ludwig and 
Marleen, by Jane Hoxie. Here we have the friendly 
Fox who grants to Ludwig the wishes he asks for Mar- 
leen. The theme parallels for the little people the 
charm of The Fisherman and His Wife, a Grimm tale 
suited to the second grade. Among modern animal 
tales The Elephanfs Child,^ one of the Just-So Stories 
by Rudyard Kipling, ranks high as a fairy tale pro- 
duced for little children by one of the great literary 
masters of the short-story. 

* See Appendix. 



240 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

A modern tale that is a bit of pure imagination and 
seems an attempt to follow Grimm and Andersen, is 
A Quick-Running Squash, in Aspinwall's Short Sto- 
ries for Short People. It uses the little boy's inter- 
est in a garden — his garden. — Interest centers about 
the fairy, the magic seed, the wonderful ride, and the 
happy ending. It uses the simple, everyday life and 
puts into it the unusual and the wonderful where no- 
thing is impossible. It blends the realistic and the 
romantic in a way that is most pleasing. The Rich 
GoosBf by Leora Robinson, in the Outlook, is an ac- 
cumulative tale with an interesting ending and sur- 
prise. Why the Morning Glory Climbs, by Elizabeth 
McCracken, in Miss Bryant's How to Tell Stories, is 
a simple fanciful tale. The Discontented Pendulum, 
by Jane Taylor, in Poulssen's In the Child's World, is 
a good illustration of the modern purely fanciful tale. 
What Bunch and Joker saw in the Moon, in Wide- 
Awake Chatterbox, about 1887, is a most delightful 
modern fanciful tale, although it is best suited to the 
child of nine or ten. Greencap, by Ruth Hays, in St. 
Nicholas, June, 1915, appeals to the child through the 
experience of Sarah Jane, whose Mother and Father 
traveled to India. Sarah went to live with Aunt Jane 
and there met Greencap who granted the proverbial 
" three wishes." Alice in Wonderland ranks in a class 
by itself among modern fanciful tales but it is better 
suited to the child of the third and fourth grades. 

A modern fairy tale which is suited to the child's 



CLASSES OF FAIRY TALES 241 

simplicity and which will stimulate his own desire to 
make a tale, is The Doll Who Was Sister to a Princess, 
one of the Toy Stories by Carolyn Bailey which have 
been pubUshed by the Kindergarten Review during 
1914-15. Among modern tales selected from Fairy 
Stories Re-told from St. Nicholas, appear some inter- 
esting ones which might be read to the little child, or 
told in the primary grades. Among these might be 
mentioned : — 

The Ballad of the Blacksmith's Sons, a modern tale in verse 
by Mary E. Wilkins. 

Casperl, by H. C. Bunner, a modern Sleeping Beauty tale. 
This tale has the virtue of not being complex and elaborate- 
It has the underlying idea that "People who are helping 
others have a strength beyond their own." 

Ten Little Dwarfs, by Sophie Dorsey, from the French of 
Emile Souvestre. It tells of the ten Uttle Dwarfs who Hved 
in the Good-wife's fingers. 

Wondering Tom, by Mary Mapes Dodge. This is a bright 
story of a boy who Hamlet-like, hesitated to act. Tom was 
always wondering. The story contains a fairy, Kumtoo- 
thepoynt, who sat on a toadstool and looked profound. It is 
realistic and romantic and has fine touches of humor. It tells 
how Wondering Tom became transformed into a Royal Ship- 
Builder. 

How An Elf Set Up Housekeeping, by Anne Cleve. This is 
a good tale of fancy. An Elf set up housekeeping in a lily 
and obtained a curtain from a spider, down from a thistle, a 
stool from a toad who lived in a green house in the wood, 
etc. 

The Wish-Ring, translated from the German by Anne 
Eichberg. This is a tale with the implied message that "The 
best way to secure one's best wish is to work for it." 

The Hop-About Man, by Agnes Herbertson, in 



242 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

Little Folks Magazine^ is a very pleasing modern ro- 
mantic fairy tale for little children. Wee Wun was a 
gnome who lived in the Bye-Bye meadow in a fine 
new house which he loved. As he flew across the Mea- 
dow he had his pockets full of blue blow-away seeds. 
In the Meadow he found a pair of shoes, of blue and sil- 
ver, and of course he took them home to his new house. 
But first he scattered the blue blow- away seeds over 
the garden wall in the Stir- About- Wife's garden where 
golden dandelions grew. And the seeds grew and 
crowded out the dandelions. Next day Wee Wun found 
a large blue seed which he planted outside his house; 
and on the following morning a great blue blow-away 
which had grown in a night, made his house dark. So 
he went to the Green Ogre to get him to take it away. 
When he came home he found, sitting in his chair, the 
Hop-About-Man, who had come to live with him. He 
had been forewarned of this coming by the little blue 
shoes when they hopped round the room singing: — 

Ring-a-ding-dill, ring-a-ding-dill. 
The Hop-About-Man comes over the hill. 
Why is he coming, and what will he see? 
Rickety, rackety, — one, two, three. 

The story then describes Wee Wun*s troubles with the 
Hop-About-Man, who remained an unwelcome inhab- 
itant of the house where Wee Wun liked to sit all alone. 
The Hop-About-Man made everything keep hopping 
about until Wee Wun would put all careless things 
straight, and until he would give back to him his 



CLASSES OF FAIRY TALES MS 

blue-and-silver shoes. One day, Wee Wun became a 
careful housekeeper and weeded out of the dandeUon 
garden all the blue blow-away plants that grew from 
the seeds he had scattered there in the Stir-About- 
Wife's garden, and when he came home his troubles 
were over, and the Hop-About-Man was gone. 

Perhaps one reason for the frequent failure of the 
modern fairy tale is that it fails to keep in harmony 
with the times. Just as the modern novel has pro- 
gressed from the romanticism of Hawthorne, the 
realism of Thackeray, through the psychology of 
George Eliot, and the philosophy of George Mere- 
dith, so the little child's story — which like the adult 
story is an expression of the spirit of the times — 
must recognize these modern tendencies. It must 
learn, from Alice in Wonderland and from A Child* s 
Garden of Verses, that the modern fairy tale is not a 
Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty, but the modern fairy 
tale is the child's mind. Th€ real fairy world is the 
strangeness and beauty of the child mind's point of 
view. It is the duty and privilege of the modern fairy 
tale to interpret the child's psychology and to present 
the child's philosophy of life. 



244 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 



REFERENCES 

Century Co.: St. Nicholas Magazine, 1915; St. Nicholas Fairy 

Stories Re-told. 
Gates, Josephine: "And Piped Those Children Back Again," 

(Pied Piper) St. Nicholas, Nov., 1914. 
Hays, Ruth: "Greencap," St. Nicholas, June, 1915. 
HazHtt, WiUiam; Essays. ("Wit and Humor.") Camelot 

Series. Scott. 
Hooker, B.: "Narrative and the Fairy Tale," Bookman, 

33: June and July, 1911, pp. 389-93, pp. 501-05. 

Ibid: "Types of Fairy Tales," Forum, 40: Oct., 1908, 
pp. 375-84. 
Martin, John: John Martin's Book (Magazine), 1915 
Meredith, George: The Comic Spirit. Scribners. 
Moulton, Alice O'Grady, and Literature Committee: 

"Humorous Tales" Kindergarten Review, Dec, 1914. 
Perry, Bliss: A Study of Prose Fiction. ("The Romantic** 

and "The Realistic") Houghton. 



CHAPTER VI 

SOURCES OF MATERIAL FOR FAIRY TALES: A LIST 
OF FAIRY TALES, PICTURES, PICTURE-BOOKS. 
POEMS, AND BOOKS 

Shall we permit our children, without scruple, to hear any fables 
composed by any authors indifiPerently, and so to receive into their 
minds opinions generally the reverse of those which, when they are 
grown to manhood, we shall think they ought to entertain?—' 
Plato, in The Republic. 

Any list of fairy tales for little children must be 
selected from those books which, as we have noted, 
contain the best collections of folk-lore, and from books 
which contain tales that rank as classics. An exami- 
nation of the tales of Perrault, of Grimm, of Dasent, 
of Andersen, of Jacobs, of Harris, and of miscellaneous 
tales, to see what are suited to the little child, would 
result in the following lists of tales. Those most 
worthy of study for the kindergarten are marked with 
an asterisk and those suited to the first grade are 
marked "1." No attempt has been made to mention 
all the varied sources of a tale or its best version. The 
Boston Public Library issues a Finding List of Fairy 
Tales and Folk Stories^ which may be procured easily, 
and the Carnegie Library at Pittsburg issues in its 
monthly bulletin for December, 1913, vol. 18, no. 10, 
a List of Folk-Tales y and other stories which may be 
dramatized. The Baker, Taylor Company, in 1914, 



246 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

issued a Graded Guide to Supplementary Reading, which 
contains a Hst of many of the best editions of folk and 
fairy tales suited to primary grades. A list of school 
editions is included in this book. But one cannot fail 
to be impressed with the general low literary standard 
of many school editions of fairy tales when judged by 
the standards here applied to the tales themselves. 

I. A LIST OF FAIRY TALES AND FOLK TALES 

Tales of Perrault : ^ / 

* Cinderella. Paa^^--^^ ' 
1 Little Thumb. 

1 puss-in-boots. 

* Red Riding Hood. 
1 Sleeping Beauty. 

1 The Three Wishes. 

Tales of the Grimms : 
1 Birdie and Lena. 
1 Briar Rose. 

* The Cat and the Mouse in Partnership. 
1 Chanticleer and Partlet. 

\. How they Went to the Hills to Eat Nuts. 

2. The Visit to Mr. Korbes. 

3. The Death of Partlet. 

* Cinderella. 

* The Elves and the Shoemaker. 
The Fox and the Geese. 

1 The Hare and the Hedgehog. 
1 The House in the Wood. 

* The King of the Birds. 

1 Little Brother and Sister. 

1 The Little Lamb and the Little Fish. 

* Little Red-Cap. 

1 Little Snow White. 



SOURCES OF MATERIAL 247 

1 Little Two-Eyes. 

Mother Holle. 
1 The Nose. 
1 Snow White and Rose Red. 

* The Sparrow and His Four Children. 
Star Dollars. 

* The Spider and the Flea. 

* The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean. 

* The Town Musicians of Bremen. 
The Willow Wren and the Bear. 

* The Wolf and the Seven Kids. 

* The Wonderful Porridge Pot. 

Norse Tales : 

Cock and Hen. 

The Cock and Hen A-Nutting. 

The Cock and Hen That Went to the Dovrefell. 

Cock, Cuckoo, and Black Cock. 

* Doll i' the Grass. 
1 Gertrude's Bird. 

1 Katie Woodencloak (read). 
1 The Lad Who Went to the North Wind. 
1 Lord Peter (read). 
One's Own Children Are Always Prettiest. 

* Three Billy Goats. 
1 Thumbikin (read). 

* Why the Bear is Stumpy-tailed (pourquois). 

English Tales, by Jacobs : 

* The Cat and the Mouse. 

* Henny Penny. 

1 The History of Tom Thumb. 

* How Jack Went to Seek His Fortune. 
1 Jack and the Bean-Stalk. 

* Johnny Cake. 

* Lazy Jack. 

* The Magpie's Nest. 

1 Master of all Masters. 

* Mr. Miacca. 



248 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

1 Mr. Vinegar. 

* The Old Woman and Her Pig. 

* PUDDOCK, MOUSIE, AND RaTTON. 

1 scrapefoot. 

* The Story of Three Bears. 

* The Story of Three Little Pigs. 

* Teeny Tiny. 

* Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse. 

Modern Fairy Tales, by Andersen : 

* The Fir Tree. 

* Five Peas in a Pod. 

1 The Happy Family (retold in Tales of Laughter). 
Little Ida's Flowers (read). 

* Ole-Luk-Oie (read to end of Thursday). /^ 

Thursday, Wedding of a Mouse. ,^/^ 

* The Princess and the Pea. ^...^ * 

* The Snow Man. ^y 
1 The Steadfast Tin Soldier. 

The Top and the Ball. 

* Thumbelina. 

What the Moon Saw: 

* Little Girl and Chickens. 

* The New Frock (realistic). 

* Little Chimney Sweep. 

* Bear Who Played "Soldiers." 

* Bread and Butter. ^ ^ 

Uncle Remus Tales, by Harris, in Nights vnth Uncle Remus: 

* Brer Rabbit and the Little Tar Baby. 

* Brother Rabbit and the Little Girl. 

* Brother Rabbit Takes a Walk. 

* Brother Rabbit Takes Some Exercise. 

* CuTTA CORD-LA (similar to Wolf and Seven Kids). 

* How Brother Rabbit Broke Up a Party. 

* How Brother Rabbit Frightens His Neighbors. 

* How Mr. Rooster Lost His Dinner (read). 

* In Some Lady's Garden. 

* Mr. Benjamin Ram (Brother Rabbit's Riddle). 



SOURCES OF MATERIAL 249 

* The Moon in the Mill-Pond (pourquois). 

* Why Brother Bear Has No Tail (pourquois). 

* Why Mr. Dog Runs After Brother Rabbit. 

* Why Guinea Fowls Are Speckled (pourquois). 

Uncle Remus Tales, by Harris, in Uncle Remus and the 
Little Boy : 

* Brother Billy Goat's Dinner. 
Brother Fox Smells Smoke. 

* Brother Rabbit and Brother Tiger. 

* Brother Rabbit and Brother Lion (similar to The 

Dog and His Shadow). 

* Brother Mud-Turtle's Trickery. 

* Brother Rabbit's Money Mint. 
1 Brother Wolf Says Grace. 

1 The Fire Test (Use with Three Pigs), 
Fun at the Ferry. 

* Heyo, House. 

The Little Rabbits. 

Mrs. Partridge Has a Fit. 

Why Brother Fox's Legs are Black. 

* Why the Hawk Catches Chickens. 

Tale, by Harris, in Little Mr. Thimhlefinger: 

* Why Billy-Goat's Tail Is Short. 

Miscellaneous Tales: 

* The Adventures of Little Field Mouse, Stories to 

Tell, Bryant. 

* Beta and the Lame Giant, Miss Harrison, In Storyland. 

* Billy Bobtail, Jane Hoxie, Kindergarten Stories ; Child- 

Lore Dramatic Reader, Scribners. 

* Blunder and the Wishing Gate, Louise Chollet, in 

Child Life in Prose, Whittier. 

* The Boy and the Goat, or The Goat in the Turnip 

Field (Norwegian), Primer, Free and Tread well; 
Child-Lore Dramatic Reader, Scribners. 

* The Cap that Mother Made or Ander's New Cap 

(Swedish), Swedish Fairy Tales, McClurg; For the 
Story-Teller, Bailey. 



250 ' A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

1 The Cat and the Parrot or The Greedy Cat, How 
to Tell Stones, Bryant; Tales of Laughter , Wiggin 
and Smith. 

1 The Cat That Waited, Classics in Dramatic Form, vol. 
I, Stevenson. 

* The Cat, the Cock, and the Fox, Tales of Laughter, 

Wiggin and Smith. 
1 Clytie, Nature Myths, Flora Cooke. 
1 The Cock, the Mouse, and the Little Red Hen, 

Felicite Lefevre, Jacobs. 

* The Country Mouse and the City Mouse, ^sop's 

Fables, Joseph Jacobs. 

* Dame Wiggins and Her Cats, Mrs. Sharp, in Six 

Nursery Classics, Heath. 

* The Discontented Pendulum, Jane Taylor, in In the 

Child's World, Poulsson. 

* The Doll Who Was Sister to a Princess, The Toy 

Stories, Carolyn Bailey, Kindergarten Review, Dec, 
1914. 

* Drakesbill, The Story-Teller s Book, O'Grady and 

Throop; The Fairy Ring, Wiggin and Smith; Fire- 
light Stories, Bailey. 

* The Elephant's Child, Just-So Stories, Kipling. 

1 The First Christmas Tree, A Little Book of Profitable 

Tales, Eugene Field. 
1 The Five Little Pigs, Katherine Pyle, in Wide Awake 

Second Reader, Little. 

* The Foolish Timid Rabbit, Jataka Tales Retold, Bab- 

bit. 
The Golden Cock, Thafs Why Stories, Bryce. 
1 Golden Rod and Aster, Nature Myths, Cooke. 
The Grain of Corn (Old Woman and Her Pig), Tales 

of the Punjab, Steel. 
1 Greencap, Ruth Hays, in St. Nicholas, June, 1915. 
1 Hans and the Four Big Giants, Miss Harrison, In 

Storyland. 
1 The Hen That Hatched Ducks, Harriet Beecher 

Stowe, in Child Life in Prose, Whittier. 

* The Hop-About-Man, Agnes Herbertson, in The Story- 



SOURCES OF MATERIAL 251 

Teller's Book, O'Grady and Throop; in Little Folks* 
Magazine. 

* The House that Jack Built, Six Nursery Classics, 

D. C. Heath. 
1 How Brother Rabbit Fooled the Whale, Stories to 
Tell, Bryant. 

* How the Camel Got His Hump, Just - So Stories, 

Kipling. 
1 How the Chipmunk Got the Stripes on its Back, 
Nature Myths, Cooke. 

* How Double Darling's Old Shoes Became Lady 

Slippers, Candace Wheeler, in St Nicholas, March, 
1887; vol. 14, pp. 342-47. 

* How Fire Was Brought to the Indians, The Book of 

Nature Myths, Holbrook. 

* How Sun, Moon, and West Wind Went Out to 

Dinner, Old Deccan Days, Frere. 
1 The Jackal and the Alligator, Stories to Tell, 

Bryant. 
1 The Jackals and the Lion, Stories to Tell, Bryant. 
1 King Solomon and the Ants, Nature Myths, Cooke. 

* The Lambikin, Tales of the Punjab, Steel; Indian Tales ^ 

Jacobs. 

* Little Jack Rollaround, Stories to Tell, Bryant. 

* The Little Rabbit Who Wanted Red Wings, For the 

Story-Teller, Bailey. 

* The Little Red Hen, Stories to Tell, Bryant. 

* The Little Rid Hin (Irish dialect verse). Stories to Tell, 

Bryant. 

* The Little Rooster, Robert Southey, in Boston Collec- 

tion of Kindergarten Stories, Hammett & Co. 

* Little Spider's First Web, Primer, Free and Tread- 

well, 

* Little Top-knot (Swedish), First Reader, Free and 

Treadwell. 

* Little Tuppen, Fairy Stories and Fables, Baldwin; 

Primer, Free and Treadwell. 

* Ludwig and Marleen, Jane Hoxie, in Kindergarten 

Review, vol. xi, no. 5. 



252 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

* Medio Pollito, or Little Half-Chick (Spanish), The 

Green Fairy Book, Lang. 

* Mezumi, the Beautiful, or The Rat Princess (Jap- 

anese), Birch-Tree Fairy Book, Johnson; Tales of 

Laughter, Wiggin and Smith. 
1 Mr. Elephant and Mr. Frog, Firelight Stories, Bailey. 
1 The Moon's Silver Cloak, Classics in Dramatic Form, 

Stevenson, vol. i. 
1 The Mouse and the Sausage, Stories and Story-Telling, 

Angela Keyes. 

* Oeyvind and Marit, from The Happy Boy, Bjornstjerne 

Bjornson, in The Story-Teller's Book, O'Grady and 
Throop; in Child-Life in Prose, Whittier. 

* Peter Rabbit, Peter Rabbit, Beatrix Potter. 

1 The Pigs and the Giant, Pyle, in Child-Lore Dramatic 
Reader, Scribners. 

* The Quick-Running Squash, Short Stories for Short 

People, Aspinwall. 
1 The Red-Headed Woodpecker, Nature Myths, Cooke. 

* The Rich Goose, Leora Robinson, in The Outlook. 

* The Robin's Christmas Song, Birch-Tree Fairy Book, 

Johnson. 

* (Wee) Robin's Yule Song. Tales of Laughter, Wiggin 

and Smith. 

* The Sheep and the Pig (Scandinavian), For the Chil- 

dren's Hour, Bailey. 

* The Sparrow and the Crow, Tales of the Punjab, 

Steel; Birch-Tree Fairy Book, Johnson. 

* The Straw Ox, Cossack Fairy Tales, Bain. 

* Story of the Morning-Glory Seed, M. Eytinge, 

Boston Kindergarten Stories. 

1 The Tale of a Black Cat, Oak-Tree Fairy Book, 
Johnson. 

1 Tommy and the Wishing-Stone, a series, by T. Bur- 
gess, in St. Nicholas, 1915. 

1 Travels of a Fox, Oak-Tree Fairy Book, Johnson. 

1 The Turtle Who Could n't Stop Talking, Jataka 
Tales Retold, Babbit. 

* The Unhappy Pine Tree, Classic Stories, McMurry. 



SOURCES OF MATERIAL 253 

1 What Bunch and Joker Saw in the Moon, Wide 

Awake Chatterbox, about 1887. 
1 The White Cat, Fairy Tales, D'Aulnoy; Fairy Tales, 

vol. II, Lansing. 

* Why the Evergreen Trees Never Lose Their 

Leaves, The Book of Nature Myths, Holbrook. 

* Why the Juniper Has Berries, The Book of Nature 

Myths, Holbrook. 

* Why the Morning Glory Climbs, How to Tell Stories, 

Bryant. 
1 The Wish Bird, Classics in Dramatic Form, vol. ii, 
Stevenson. 



II. BIBLIOGRAPHY OF FAIRY TALES 

Baker, Franklin T.: Bibliography of Children's Reading. 
Introduction and lists. Teachers College, Columbia Uni- 
versity. 

Baker Taylor Company, The : Graded Guide to Supplementary 
Reading. 1914. 

Boston Public Library: Finding List of Fairy Tales. 

Carnegie Library, Pittsburgh. List of Folk Tales. Bulletin, 
Dec, 1913, vol. 18, no. 10. 

Ibid.: Illustrated Editions of Children's Books. 1915. 

Harron, Julia; Bacon, Corinne; and Dana, John: American 
Library Economy. Newark Free Library, Newark, New 
Jersey. 

Haight, Rachel Webb: "Fairy Tales." Bulletin of Bibliogra- 
phy, 1912. Boston Book Co. 

Hewins, Caroline : A. L. A. List. Books for Boys and Girls. 
Third Edition, 1913. A. L. A. Pub. Board, Chicago. 

Kready, Laura F.: "Picture-Books for Little Children." 
Kindergarten Review, Sept., 1914. 

Moulton, Alice O'Grady, and Literature Com. of I. K. U. : 
" Humorous Stories for Children." Kindergarten Review, 
Dec, 1914. 

Salisbury, G. E., and Beckwith, M. E. : Index to Short Stories, 

St. Louis Public Library. Lists of Stories and Programs for 
Story Hours. Give best versions. 



Caldecott, Randolph: Picture-Books: ^ ,^ ,J / 

2. The House that Jack Built. F. Warne. ^^ 



254 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

Widdemer, Margaret : " A Bibliography of Books and Articles 
Relating to Children's Reading. Part i, Children's Read- 
ing in general. Part ii, History of Children's Literature, 
etc. Part iii, Guidance of Children's Reading." Bulletin 
of Bibliography, July, 1911, Oct., 1911, and Jan., 1912. 
Boston Book Co. 

III. A LIST OF PICTURE-BOOKS ^ 

Beskow, Elsa : Hanschen im Blaubeerenwald. Stuttgart. >i**-«#t 
Brooke, Leslie : The Golden Goose Book. F. Warne. {^y^uAyCt 

Ibid. : The House in the Wood. F. Warne. 

Ibid. : The Truth About Old King Cole. F. Warne. - 

Browning, Robert: The Pied Piper, Kate Greenaway, F. ^ 

Warne; Hope Dunlap, Rand; T. Butler Stoney, Dutton. 

.. ^^'^ 
3. Hey Diddle Diddle Book. F. Warne. 
Coussens, P. W. : ^ Child's Book of Stories. Jessie W. Smith. 

Duffield. ol^ 

Crane, Walter: Picture-Books: ^^^^^^ 
Cinderella. John Lane. 
Mother Hubbard. John Lane. 
Red Riding Hood. John Lane. 
This Little Pig. John Lane. 
Grimm, Jacob and William : Cruikshank Fairy Book. Cruik-^ 
shank, Putnam. 

Ibid. : Das Deutsche Bilderbuch. Jos. Scholz. 

1. Dbrnroschen. 

2. Aschenputtel. 
7. Frau Holle. 

10. Der Wolf und Sieben Geislein. 
Ibid.: Liebe Mdrchen. 10, 11, 12. Jos. Scholz. 
Ibid. : Cherry Blossom. Helen Stratton. Blackie and 
Sons. 
Jerrold, Walter: The Big Book of Fairy Tales. Robinson. 
Blackie. 

^ Laura F. Kieady, " Picture-Books for Little Children," Kinder' 
garien Review, Sept., 1914. 



SOURCES OF MATERIAL 255 

Olfers, Sibylle: Windschen. J. F. Schreiber. 
Ihid.: Wurzelkindern. J. F. Schreiber. 
Sharp, Mrs. : Dame Wiggins of Lee. Introduction by Ruskin. 
Kate Greenaway. George Allen. 

IV. A LIST OF PICTURES 

Cinderella. 227, Meinhold. Dresden. 
724, Meinhold. Dresden. 
366, Teubner. Leipzig. 

Canadian Magazine, Dec, 1911, by Val Prinsep, 
R.A. 
Elves. Arthur Rackham. St. Nicholas, Nov., 1914. 

Ihid. : Book of Pictures. Century. 
Hop-o*-my-Thumb. A Child's Own Book of Fairy Tales. 
Dore. H. Pisan, engraver. 

Elizabeth S. Forbes. Canadian Magazine, Dec, 1911. 
Little Brother and Sister. Tempera Painting, Marianna 

Stokes. Illustrated London News, Dec, 1907. 
Perrault's Tales. Kay Nielsen. Illustrated London News, 

Dec. 1913. 
Red Riding Hood. Poster, Mary Stokes. Ladies* Home 
Journal. 

230, Meinhold. Dresden. 

77, Teubner. Leipzig and Berlin. 

G. Ferrier. Engraved for St. Nicholas, Braun, Clement, 

&Co. 
Supplement to American Primary Teacher, May, 1908. 
Picture, 2 ft. by 1 ft.. New Specialty Shop, Phila., Pa. 
Sleeping Beauty. Mouat, London. Canadian Magazine, 

Dec, 1911. Illustrated London News, Dec, 1907. 
Snow White. A series. Maxfield Parrish. 

Picture by Elizabeth Shippen Green. 
Two Series. Five pictures in each. Jessie Willcox Smith. 
P. F. Collier & Sons. 

V. A LIST OF FAIRY POEMS 

Allingham, William : The Fairy Folk. The Posy Ring. 
Bangs, John Kendrick: The Little Elf. The Posy Ring. 



256 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

Bird, Robert: The Fairy Folk. A Child's Book of Old Verses. 
Dodsley, R. : Red Caps of Fairies. Fuimus Troes, Old Plays. 
Drayton, Michael: Nymphal III, Poets' Elysium. 
Herford, Oliver: The Elf and the Dormouse. The Posy Ring. 
Hood, Thomas: A Plain Direction. Heart of Oak Books, HI. 

Ibid. : Queen Mab. A Child's Book of Old Verses. 
Howitt, Mary: The Fairies of the Caldon-Low. The Posy 

Ring. 

Ibid.: Mabel on Midsummer Day. The Story-Teller's 
Book, O'Grady and Throop. 
Lyly, John : The Urchin's Dance and Song. Song of the First 

Fairy. Song of the Second Fairy. Maydes Metamorphosis. 
McDermot, Jessie: A Fairy Tale. Fairy Tales. Rolfe. Amer. 

Book Co. 
Noyes, Alfred : The Magic Casement. An anthology of fairy 

poetry, with an introduction. Dutton. 
Percy, Bishop: The Fairy Queen. Reliquesof Ancient Poetry; 

from The Mysteries of Love and Eloquence, London, 1658. 
Shakespeare, William: Ariel's Song; A Fairy Song; " I know a 

bank" ; The Song of the Fairies. Shakespeare's Dramas. 
Stevenson, Robert L. Fairy Bread; The Little Land. A 

Child's Garden of Verses. 
Unknown Author: The Fairy. ''Oh, who is so merry." A 

Child's Book of Old Verses. Duffield. 
Wilkins, Mary E.: The Ballad of the Blacksmith's Sons. 

Fairy Stories Retold from St. Nicholas. Century. 



VI. MAIN STANDARD FAIRY TALE BOOKS 

Andersen, Hans Christian : Fairy Tales. 2 vols. Pedersen & 
Stone. Houghton. 

Ibid.: Fairy Tales. Edited by W. A. and J. K. Craigie. 

Oxford University Press. 
Ibid.: Fairy Stories for Youngest Children. Lucas. 

Stratton. Blackie. (English edition.) 
Ibid. : Fairy Tales. Mrs. Lucas. T. C. and W. Robinson. 

Dutton. 
Ibid. : Fairy Tales. Mrs. Lucas. Helen Stratton. Dodge. 
Ibid. : Fairy Tales. Maria L. Kirk. Lippincott. 



SOURCES OF MATERIAL 257 

Andersen, Hans Christian: Fairy Tales. Edmund Dulac. 
Hodder & Stoughton. 

Ihid.\ Fairy Tales. W. H. Robinson. Holt. 
Ihid.: Fairy Tales. Braekstad. Tegner. Introd. by 
Gosse. Century. 
Asbjornsen, P. C: Fairy Tales from the Far North. Burt. 
Ibid. : Round the Yule Log. Introd. by Gosse. Braek- 
stad. Lippincott. 
Dasent, Sir George W. : Popular Tales from the North. Rout- 
ledge. Dutton. 

Ibid.: Popular Tales from the North. Putnam. 
Ibid.: Tales from the Field. Putnam. 
Grimm, Jacob and William: Household Tales. Margaret 
Hunt. Bohn's Libraries, Bell & Co. 

Ibid.: Household Tales. Lucy Crane. Walter Crane. 

Macmillan. 
Ibid.: Fairy Tales. Helen Stratton. Dodge. 
Ibid. : German Popular Stories. Tr. Edgar Taylor. Introd. 
by Ruskin. 22 illustrations by Cruikshank. Chatto 
& Windus. 
Ibid. : Fairy Tales. Johann & Leinweber. McLoughlin. 
Ibid. : Fairy Tales. Arthur Rackham. Doubleday. 
Ibid. : Fairy Tales. Hope Dunlap. Rand. 
Harris, Joel Chandler: Uncle Remus, His Songs and Sayings. 
Appleton. 

Ibid. : Nights With Uncle Remus. Church. Houghton. 
Ibid. : Uncle Remus and His Friends. Frost. Houghton. 
Ibid.: Uncle Remus and the Little Boy. J. M. Comte. 
Small. 
Jacobs, Joseph: English Fairy Tales. 2 vols. Batten. 
Putnam. 

Ibid. : Celtic Fairy Tales. 2 vols. Batten. Putnam. Sv-t-^ 
Ibid.: Indian Fairy Tales. Batten. Putnam. v. -^<t^v 

Ibid.: The Most Delectable History of Reynard the Fox, 

Frank Calderon. Macmillan. 
Ibid. : Europa's Fairy Tales. Batten. Putnam. 
O'Shea, M. V.: Old World Wonder Stories. Heath. 
FeiTault, ChsLTles: Tales of Mother Goose. Welsh. Heath. 

Ibid.: Fairy Tales. Appleton. Estes. w- - 



258 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

Perrault, Charles : Tales of Passed Times. Temple Classics. 
C. Robinson. Dutton. 

Ibid. : Popular Tales. Edited by Andrew Lang. French; 
and EngHsh translation of original edition. Oxford, 
Clarendon Press. 

VII. FAIRY TALES OF ALL NATIONS 

Celtic. Jacobs. 1911. Putnam. 
Chinese. Pitnam. 1910. Crowell. 
Cossack. Bain. 1899. Burt. 
Danish. Bay. 1899. Harper. 
Donegal. McManus. 1900. Doubleday. 
English. Jacobs. 1904. Putnam. 

Ibid.: Folk and Fairy Stories. Hartland, born 1848. 
Camelot series. 
French. DeSegur. 1799-1874. Winston. 
German. Grimm. 1812, 1822. Bohn's Libraries. 
Hungarian. Pogany. 1914. Stokes. 
Indian. Old Deccan Days. Frere. 1868. McDonough. 

Ihid. : Tales of the Sun. Mrs. Kingscote. 1890. W. H. 
Allen. 

Ihid.: Buddhist Birth Stories. Rhys Davids. 1880. 
Trubner. 

Ibid.: Fairy Tales. Stokes. 1880. Ellis & White. 

Ibid. : Folk Tales of Bengal. Day. 1883. Macmillan. 

Ibid.: Wide Awake Stories. Steel and Temple. 1884. 
Trubner. 

Ibid.: Folk-Tales of Kashmir. Knowles. 1887. Trubner. 

Ibid. : Tales of the Punjab. Steel. 1894. Macmillan. / 
Irish. Yeats. 1902. Burt. / ^i<l^^ 

Italian. Macdonell. 1911. Stokes. / a ^j/ ^ 

Ibid.: Crane. 1885. Macmillan. ^ ' 

Japanese. Ozaki. 1909. Dutton. 
Manx. Morrison. 1899. Nutt. 
New World. Kennedy. 1904. Dutton. )] ii 
Norse. Dasent. 1820-1896. Lippincott. ' '^''^ , . ... , . 

76z(^.:Mabie. 1846-. Dodd. ,{ )WZ. 

Papuan. Kerr. 1910. Macmillan. 



SOURCES OF MATERIAL 259 

Persian. Stephen. 1892. Dutton. 

Ihid. : Clouston. 1907. Stokes. ^ y 

Russian. Dole. 1907. Crowell.^ . ^. \^ 

Ibid.: Bain. Bilibin. 1914. Century. ^^^ 

Scottish. Grierson. 1910. Stokes. ^jb 

South African. Honey. 1910. Baker & Taylor. 
Welsh. Thomas. 1908. Stokes. 




VIII. MISCELLANEOUS EDITIONS OF FAIRY 
TALES 



«s 



D'Aulnoy, Madame : Fairy Tales. Trans, by Blanche. Gordon 
Browne. McKay. 

Ibid. : Fairy Tales. Introd. by Anne T. Ritchie. Scrib- 
ners. 
Austin, M. H. : Basket Woman. Houghton. C^^ i^<£«-*e-- 
Babbit, Ellen: Jataka Tales Retold. Century, ^^^td^-^ 
Bailey, Carolyn: Firelight Stories. Bradley. 
Bailey and Lewis : For the Children's Hour. Bradley. 
Baldwin, James: Fairy Stories and Fables. Amer. Book Co. 
Barrie, J. M. : Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens. Rackham. 

Scribners. 
Baumbach, Rudolf: Tales from Wonderland. Simmpns. 
BerieWi, T.u\gi: The Prince and His Ants. Holt. ' 
Bryant, Sara C. : Best Stories to Tell to Children. Houghton, 
Burgess, Thornton: Old Mother West Wind. Little. 
Ibid. : The Adventures of Reddy Fox. Little. 
Ibid. : The Adventures of Johnny Chuck. Little. T 

Ibid. : Tommy and the Wishing-stone. Animal Tales. St. 
Nicholas, 1915. 
Chapin, Anna: The Now-a-Days Fairy Book. Jessie W. 

Smith. Dodd. 
Chisholm, Louey; In Fairyland. Xatherine Cameron. Put- v 
nam. 

Ibid. : Little Red Riding Hood; Cinderella; (I Read Them 
Myself series). Dodge. V 

Collection: Half a Hundred Stories for Little People, 

Bradley. 
Cooke, Flora J. : Nature Myths and Stories. Flanagan. 



I 

i 



1! 



260 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

Cowell, E. B. : The Jatakas or Stories of the Buddha's Former 
Births. Tr. from the Pali. 6 vols. Cambridge University 
Press. Putnam. 1895-1907. 
Crothers, Samuel McChord : Miss Muffefs Christmas Party, 

Houghton. 
Emerson, Ellen: Indian Myths. Houghton. 
Everyman Series: 157; 365; and 5^1. Dutton. 
France, Anatole : The Honey Bee. John Lane. 
Grover, Eulalie O., editor: Mother Goose. F. Richardson. 

Volland. 
Harris, Joel C. : Little Mr. Thimblefinger. Houghton. *^>r 

Harrison, Miss: In Storyland. Central Pub. Co., Chicago. 
Holbrook, Florence : The Book of Nature Myths. Houghton. 
James, Grace: The Green Willow: Japanese. Goble. Mac- 

millan. 
Jerrold, Walter: The Reign of King Oberon. Robinson. Dent. 

Little. 
Johnson, Clifton: Fairy Books: Oak-Tree; Birch-Tree; and 
Elm-Tree. Little. 

Ibid. : Book of Fairy Tale Bears. Houghton. 
Ibid. : Book of Fairy Tale Foxes. Houghton. 
Kingsley, Charles: Water-Babies. Warwick Goble. Mac- 
millan. 

Ibid. : Water-Babies. Introd. by Rose Kingsley. Mar- 
garet Tarrant. Dutton. 
Kipling, Rudyard: Jungle Books. 2 vols. Original edition. 
Century. 
Ibid. : Jungle Books. M. and E. Detmold. Century. 
Ibid. : Jungle Books. A. Rackham. Doubleday. 
Ibid. : Just-So Stories. Doubleday. 
Ibid. : Puck of Book's Hill. Doubleday. 
Ibid. : Rewards and Fairies. Doubleday. 
Laboulaye, Edouard: Fairy Book. Harper. '^^^f^jfy(_ 

Ibid. : Last Fairy Tales. Harper. 
Lang, Andrew: Fairy Books: Red; Orange; Yellow; Green; 

Blue; Violet; Gray; Crimson; Brown; Pink. Longmans. 
Lansing, Marion : Rhymes and Stories. Ginn. 

Ibid. : Fairy Tales. 2 vols. Ginn. 
Leamy, Edward: Golden Spears. FitzGerald. 



Y 



SOURCES OF MATERIAL 261 

Lefevre, Felicite: The Cock, the Mouse, and the Little Red Hen. 
Tony Sarg. Jacobs, Phila. 

Lindsay, Maud : Mother Stories; More Mother Stories. Brad- 
ley. 

Maeterlinck, Madam: The Children's Bluebird. Dodd. ^: 'X/- - 

Molesworth, Mary Louise: The Cuckoo Clock. Maria Kirk. 
Lippincott. 

Mulock, Miss: The Fairy Book. Boyd Smith. Crowell. "!^i,-A^ 
Ibid. : Fairy Book. 32 illus. by W. Goble. Macmillan. 
Ibid. : Little Lame Prince. Hope Dunlap. Rand. 

Musset, Paul de: Mr. Wind and Madam Rain. Bennett. 
Putnam. 

Nyblom, Helena: Jolly Cable and other Swedish Fairy Tales. 
Folknin. Dutton. 

Olcott, Frances J. : Arabian Nights. Tr. by Lane. Cairo text. /^.<^ 
Selections. Holt. 

Perrault, Charles : The Story of Bluebeard. Stone & Kimball, 
Chicago. 

Poulsson, E. : In the Child's World. Bradley. 

Pyle, Howard : The Garden Behind the Moon. Scribners. 
Ibid.: Wonder-Clock. Harper. 

Pyle, Katherine: Fairy Tales from Many Lands. Dutton. 

Rackham, Arthur: Mother Goose. Century. 

Rame, Louise de la (Ouida) : Nilrnberg Stove: Bimbi Stories 
for Children. Page. 

Rhys, Ernest: Fairy Gold. Herbert Cole. Dutton. 

Rolfe, William: Fairy Tales in Prose and Verse. Amer. 
Book Co. 

Shakespeare, William: Midsummer Night's Dream. With 
forty illustrations in color by Arthur Rackham. Double- 
day. 

Shedlock, Marie: A Collection of Eastern Stories and Legends. 
Foreword by T. Rhys Davids. Dutton. 

Smith, Jessie Willcox: Mother Goose. Dodd. 

Stephen, A. : Fairy Tales of a Parrot. Ellis. Nister. Dutton. 

Stockton, F. : The Queen's Museum. F. Richardson. Scrib- 
ners. 

Tappan, Eva March: The Children's Hour: Folk Stories and 
Fables. Houghton. 



262 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

Thorne-Thomson : East 6* the Sun and West o' the Moon, 
Row. Op^^^^t'^-^lt^ 

Underliill, Zoe D.: The Dwarfs Tailor. Harper. "^ ^ 

Valentine, Mrs. Laura: Old, Old Fairy Tales. F. Warne. 
Welsh, Charles: Fairy Tales Children Love. Dodge. 
Wheeler, W. A. : Mother Goose Melodies. Houghton. 
Wiggin, Kate; and Smith, Nora: The Fairy Ring: Tales of 
* Laughter: Magic Casements: and Tales of Wonder. Double- 
day. 

IX. SCHOOL EDITIONS OF FAIRY TALES 

Alderman, E. A. : Classics Old and New. Amer. Book Co. 

Alexander, G.: Child Classics. Bobbs. 

Baker, F. T., and Carpenter, G. R. : Language Readers. Mac- 
millan. 

Baldwin, James: The Fairy Reader, I and 11. Amer. Book 
Co. 

Blaisdell, Etta (MacDonald) : Child Life in Tale and Fable. 
Macmillan. 

Blumenthal, Verra: Fairy Tales from the Russian. Rand. 

Brooks, Dorothy: Stories of Red Children. Educational. 

Bryce, Catherine: Child-Lore Dramatic Reader. Scribners. 

Burchill, Ettinger: Progressive Road to Reading, Readers. 
Silver. 

Chadwick, Mara P. : Three Bears Story Primer. Educational. 

Chadwick, M. P. and Freeman, E. G.: Chain Stories and 
Playlets: The Cat That Was Lonesome: The Mouse That Lost 
Her Tail; and The Woman and Her Pig. World Book Co. 

Coe and Christie: Story Hour Readers. Amer. Book Co. 

Craik, Georgiana : So Fat and Mew Mew. Heath. 

Davis, M. H. and Leung, Chow: Chinese Fables and Folk 
Stories. Amer. Book. Co. 

Dole, C. F.: Crib and Fly. Heath. 

Free and Treadwell: Reading Literature Series. Row, Peter- 
son. 

Grover, Eulalie O. : Folk Lore Primer. Atkinson. 

Hale, E. E.: Arabian Nights. Selections. Ginn. 

Heath, D. C: Dramatic Reader. Heath. , -r— 



SOURCES OF MATERIAL 263 

Henderson, Alice: Andersen's Best Fairy Tales. Rand. 

Hix, Melvin : Once Upon a Time Stories. Longmans. 

Holbrook, Florence: Dramatic Reader for the Lower Grades, 
Amer. Book Co. 

Howard, F. W. : The Banbury Cross Stories: The Fairy Gift 
and Tom Hickathrift. Merrill. 

Johnston, E.; and Barnum, M.: Book of Plays for Little 
Actors. Amer. Book. Co. 

Kennerley : The Kipling Reader. 2 vols. Appleton. 

Ketchum and Rice : Our First Story Reader. Scribners. 

Lang, Andrew: Fairy Readers. Longmans. 

Lansing, M. : Tales of Old England. Ginn. 

Mabie, H. : Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know. Double- 
day. 

McMahon, H., M., and A. : Rhyme and Story Primer. Heath. 

McMurry, Mrs. Lida B. : Classic Stories. Public School Pub. 
Co. 

Norton, Charles E. : Heart of Oak Books. Heath. 

Norvell, F. T., and Haliburton, M. W.: Graded Classics. 
Johnson. 

Perkins, F. O.: The Bluebird Arranged for Schools. Silver. 

Pratt, Mara L. : Legends of Red Children. Amer. Book Co. 

Roulet, Mary Nixon: Japanese Folk-Stories and Fairy 
Tales. Amer. Book Co. 

Scudder, H.: Andersen's Fairy Tales: Grimm's Fairy Tales; 
Fables and Folk Stories; The Children's Book. Houghton. 

Smythe, Louise: Reynard the Fox. Amer. Book Co. 

Spaulding and Bryce: Aldine Readers. Newson. 

Stevenson, Augusta: Children's Classics in Dramatic Form, 
5 vols. Houghton. 

Stickney, J. H. : Andersen's Fairy Tales. 2 series. Ginn. 

Summers, Maud: The Summers Readers. Beattys. 

Turpin, E. H. : Andersen's Fairy Tales. Merrill. 

Underwood, Kate : Fairy Tale Plays (For Infants and Jun- 
iors) . Macmillan. 

University Pub. Co. : Fairy Tales. Standard Literature Series; 
Hans Andersen's Best Stories; Grimm's Best Stories. 
Newson and Co. 

Van Sickle, J. H., etc.: The Riverside Readers. Houghton. 



264 A STUDY OF FAIRY TALES 

Varney, Alice : Story Plays Old and New. Amer. Book Co. 
Villee : Little Folk Dialog Reader. Sower. 
Wade, Mary H.; Indian Fairy Tales. Wilde. 
Washburne, Mrs. M.: Old-Fashioned Fairy Tales (Retold 

from poetic versions of Thomas Hood). Rand. 
White, Emma G. : Pantomime Primer. Amer. Book Co. 
Williston, P. : Japanese Fairy Tales. % series. Rand. 
Wiltse, Sara E. : Folk Lore Stories and Proverbs. Ginn. 
Wohlfarth, J., and McMurry, Frank: Little Folk-Tales. 

2 vols. 
Zitkala-sa: Old Indian Legends. Ginn. 



Of 



APPENDIX 

ILLUSTRATIONS OF CREATIVE RETURN ^ 

Tales suited for dramatization 

Little Two-Eyes 

Little Two-Eyes, which is suited to the first-grade child, is 
one of the most attractive of folk-tales and contains blended 
within itself the varied beauties of the tales. It is in cante- 
fable form, which gives it the poetic touch so appealing to 
children. It contains the magic rhymes, — 

Little kid, bleat, 
I wish to eat! 

Little kid, bleat, 
Clear it off, neat I 

the fairy wise woman, and the friendly goat. It contains the 
fairy housekeeping in the forest which combines tea-party, 
picnic, and magic food — all of which could not fail to de- 
light children. The lullaby to put Two-Eyes to sleep suits 
little children who know all there is to know about " going to 
sleep." The magic tree, the silver leaves, the golden fruit, the 
knight and his fine steed, and the climax of the tale when the 
golden apple rolls from under the cask — all possess un- 
usual interest. There is exceptional beauty in the setting of 
this tale; and its message of the worth of goodness places it in 
line with Cinderella. It should be dramatized as two complete 
episodes, each of three acts: — 

The Goat Episode 

Place The home and the forest. 

Time Summer. 

1 For Little Two-Eyes and Snow White, see note on p. 145; for The 
Little Lamb and the Little Fish, see pp. 147-48; and for How the 
Birds came to have Different Nests, see p. 151. 



266 APPENDIX 

Act I, Scene i. A home scene showing how the Mother and Sis- 
ters despised Two-Eyes. 
Scene ii. Two-Eyes and the Fairy. 

Scene in. Two-Eyes and the Goat. Evening of the first 
day. 
Act II, Scene i. One-Eye went with Two-Eyes. Third morning. 

Song . . . Feast . . . Return home. 
Act III, Scene i. Three-Eyes went with Two-Eyes. Fourth morn- 
ing. 
Song . . . Feast . . . Return home. 



The Story of Two-Eyes 

Place The forest; and the magic tree before the house. 

Time Summer. 

Act I, Scene i. Two-Eyes and the Fairy. 

Act II, Scene i. The magic tree. Mother and Sisters attempt to 

pluck the fruit. 
Act III, Scene i. The Knight. Second attempt to pluck fruit. 
Conclusion. The happy marriage. 



Snow White 

The Story of Snow White is one of the romantic fairy tales 
which has been re-written and staged as a play for children, 
and now may be procured in book form. It was produced 
by Winthrop Ames at the Little Theatre in New York City. 
The dramatization by Jessie Braham White followed closely 
the original tale. The entire music was composed by Edmond 
Rickett, who wrote melodies for a number of London Christ- 
mas pantomimes. The scenery, by Maxfield Parrish, was 
composed of six stage pictures, simple, harmonious, and 
beautiful, with tense blue skies, a dim suggestion of the 
forest, and the quaint architecture of the House of the Seven 
Dwarfs. Pictures in old nursery books were the models for 
the scenes. Because of the simplicity of the plot and the few 
characters. Snow White could be played very simply in four 
scenes, by the children of the second and third grades for the 
kindergarten and first grade. 



APPENDIX 267 

Snow White 

Scene i. A Festival on the occasion of Snow White's sixteenth 

birthday. 
Scene ii. In the Forest, 

Scene in. A Room in the House of the Seven Dwarfs. 
Scene iv. The Reception to Snow White as Queen, on the grounds 

near the young King's Palace. 

The beautiful character of Snow White; the glimpse of 
Dwarf life — the kindly little men with their unique tasks 
and their novel way of living; the beauty and cheer of Snow 
White which her housekeeping brought into their home; 
their devotion to her; the adventure in the wood; the faithful 
Huntsman; the magic mirror; the wicked Queen; and the 
Prince seeking the Princess — all contribute to the charm 
of the tale. The songs written for the play may be learned by 
the children, who will love to work them into their simple 
play: Snow White, as fair as a lily, as sweet as a rose; the song 
of the forest fairies, Welcome, Snow White; and their second 
song which they sing as they troop about Snow White lying 
asleep on the Dwarf's bed, Here you 'II find a happy homey 
softly sleep ! or the song of Snow White to the Dwarfs, 1 can 
brew, I can bake. 

The Little Lamb and the Little Fish 

Once upon a time there lived a sister and a brother who 
loved each other very much. They were named Gretchen 
and Peterkin. One day their father who was King of the 
country, left them and brought home with him a new Queen 
who was not kind to the children. She banished them from 
the castle and told the King bad tales about them. So they 
made friends with the Cook and ate in the kitchen. Peter- 
kin would bring water and Gretchen could carry plates and 
cups and saucers. 

One beautiful spring day when all the children were out-of- 
doors playing games, Gretchen and Peterkin went to play 
with them, by the pond, on the meadow, beyond the castle 
wall. Around this pond the children would run, joining 
hands and singing : — 



268 APPENDIX 

" Eneke, Beneke, let me live. 
And I to you my bird will give; 
The bird shall fetch of straw a bunch, 
And that the cow shall have to munch; 
The cow shall give me milk so sweet, 
And that I '11 to the baker take, / 

Who with it shall a small cake bake; 
The cake the cat shall have to eat. 
And for it catch a mouse for me. 

And this is the end of the tale." 

Round and round the pond the children ran singing; and 
as the word " tale" fell on Peterkin he had to run away over 
the meadow and all the rest ran after to catch him. 

But just then the wicked Queen from her window in the 
castle spied the happy children. She did not look pleased 
and she muttered words which you may be sure were not very 
pleasant words. 

The children had been racing across the meadow after 
Peterkin. Now one called, *' Where is Peterkin.'* I saw him 
near that tree, but now I cannot see him. Gretchen, can you 
see Peterkin.? — Why, where 's Gretchen?" 

Peterkin and Gretchen were nowhere to be seen. Suddenly 
a little boy said, *' Where did that lamb come from over there.'* 
It must have been behind the linden tree!" 

The children drew near the lamb, when what was their 
surprise to hear it call out to them, " Run children, run quick 
or the Queen will harm you ! I am Gretchen ! Run, and never 
come near the pond again!" And at the little Lamb's words 
the children fled. 

But the little Lamb ran all about the meadow, calling, 
** Peterkin, Peterkin! " and would not touch a blade of grass. 
Sadly she walked to the edge of the pond and slowly walked 
round and round it calling, "Peterkin, where are you?" 

Suddenly the water bubbled and a weak voice cried, " Here, 
Gretchen, in the pond, — 

"Here Gretchen, here swim I in the pond. 
Nor may I ever come near castle ground." 

And the Lamb replied : — 

, "Ah, my brother! In the wood, 

A lamb, now I must search for food.*' 



APPENDIX 269 

Then Peterkin comforted Gretchen and promised early 
every morning to come up to the water to talk with her; and 
Gretchen promised to come early from the wood, before the 
sun was up, to be with Peterkin. And Peterkin said, *'I will 
never forsake you, Gretchen, if you will never forsake me!" 
And Gretchen said, " I will never forsake you, Peterkin, if you 
will never forsake me!" 

Then the little Lamb fled sadly to the wood to look for 
food and the little Fish swam round the pond. But the chil- 
dren did not forget their playmates. Every day they saved 
their goodies and secretly laid them at the edge of the wood 
where the Lamb could get them. And the Lamb always 
saved some to throw the crumbs to the little Fish in the morn- 
ing. 

Many days passed by. One day visitors were coming to 
the castle. " Now is my chance," thought the wicked Queen. 
So she said to the Cook, '* Go, fetch me the lamb out of the 
meadow, for there is nothing else for the strangers!" 

Now the Lamb had lingered by the pond longer than usual 
that morning so that the Cook easily caught her; and taking 
her with him tied her to the tree just outside the kitchen. 
But when the Cook was gone to the kitchen, the little Fish 
swam up from the pond into the little brook that ran by the 
tree and said — 

"Ah, my sister, sad am I, 
That so great harm to you is nigh! 
And far from you I love must be, 
A-swimming in the deep, deep sea!" 

And the Lamb replied : — 

"Ah, my brother in the pond, 
Sad must I leave you, though I'm fond; 
The cook has come to take my life, 
Swim off to sea, — Beware!" 

Just then the Cook came back and hearing the Lamb speak 
became frightened. Thinking it could not be a real lamb, he 
said, " Be still, I will not harm you. Run, hide in the wood, 
and when it is evening, come to the edge of the wood and I 
will help you!" 

Then the Cook caught another lamb and dressed it for the 
guests. And before evening he went to a wise woman who 



270 APPENDIX 

happened to be the old Nurse who had taken care of Peterkin 
and Gretchen. She loved the children and she soon saw what 
the wicked Queen had done. She told the Cook what the 
Lamb and Fish must do to regain their natural forms. 

As soon as it was dark the little Lamb came to the edge of 
the wood and the Cook said, ''Little Lamb, I will tell you 
what you must do to be a maid again ! " So the Cook whispered 
what the wise Woman had said. The little Lamb thanked 
the Cook and promised to do as he said. 

Next morning very early before the break of day, the little 
Lamb hurried from the wood across the meadow. Not taking 
time to go near the pond she hastily pushed against the castle 
gate which the kind Cook had left unfastened for her. She 
ran up the path, and there under the Queen's window stood 
the beautiful rose-tree with only two red roses on it — just 
as the Cook had said. Not even glancing at the Queen's 
window, the little Lamb began nibbling the lowest one. And 
behold, there in the path stood Gretchen again! Then has- 
tening to seize the other rose before the sun's first ray might 
touch it, she ran lightly down the path, away from castle 
ground, across the meadow to the pond. Calling little Fish 
to the water's edge — for he had lingered in the pond — 
she sprinkled over him the drops of dew in the heart of the 
rose. And there stood little Peterkin beside Gretchen! 

Then hand in hand, Gretchen and Peterkin hurried from 
the pond and fled into the wood just as the sun began to 
show beyond the trees. There they built themselves a cot- 
tage and lived in it happily ever afterwards. The kind Cook 
and the wise Nurse found them and visited them. But 
Gretchen and Peterkin never went near castle ground until 
the Cook told them the Queen was no more. — Laura F. 
Kready. 

How the Birds came to Have Different Nests 
Time. . . . 

Once upon a time when pigs spoke rhyme, 
And monkeys chewed tobacco. 
And hens took snuff to make them tough, 1 
And ducks went quack, quack, quack, 0! 



APPENDIX 271 

Place. . . . Madge Magpie's Nest up in a Tree-top. 
Characters: Madge Magpie, the Teacher; Thrush, Blackbird, Owl, 
Sparrow, Starling, and Turtle-Dove. 

All the Birds. " We have come to you, Madge Magpie, 
to ask you to teach us how to build nests. All tbe Birds tell 
how clever you are at building nests." 

Magpie. "Make a circle round about the foot of this old 
pear-tree. I will sit upon this limb near my nest and show 
you how^ to do it. First I take some mud and make a fine 
round cake with it." 

Thrush. *' Oh, that 's how it's done, is it? I'll hurry home! 
Goodbye, Birds, I can't stay another minute! 

Mud in a cake, mud in a cake, 
To-whit, to-whee, a nest I'll make! " 

Magpie. *' Next I take some twigs and arrange them about 
the mud." 

Blackbird. " Now I know all about it. Here I go, I'm off 
to make my nest in the cherry-tree in Mr. Smith's cornfield! 

Sticks upon mud, mud upon sticks, 
Caw, caw! I'll make a nest for six! " 

Magpie. " See, here I put another layer of mud over the 
twigs." 

Wise Owl. "Oh! That 's quite obvious. Strange I never 
thought of that before. Farewell, come to see me at the old 
elm- tree beside the gray church! 

Mud over twigs! To-whit, to-whoo! 
No better nest than that ever grew ! " 

Magpie. " See these long twigs. I just twine them round 
the outside." 

Sparrow. "The very thing. I'll do it this very day. I 
can pick some up on my way home. I'll choose the spout 
that looks down over the school-yard; then I can see the 
children at play. They must like me for they never chase me 
away or hit me. 

A nest with twigs twined round and round. 

Chip, chip! No fear that would fall to the ground! " 

Magpie. "And see these little feathers and soft stuff. 
What a comfortable, cosy Hning for the nest they make!" 



272 APPENDIX 

Starling, "That suits me! Off I go, I like a cosy warm 
nest. It shall be in that old plum-tree in the orchard, on the 
side of the hill. 

Feathers and down to make cosy and warm, 
That's the nest to keep us from harm!" 

Magpie. *' Well, Birds, have you seen how I made my nest? 
Do you think you know how.^ — Why, where are all the 
Birds? They couldn't wait until I'd finished. Only you, 
Turtle-Dove, left!" 

Turtle-Dove. " Take two, Taflfy, take two— o— o— o! " 

Magpie. '* Here I put a twig across. But not two — one 's 
enough!" 

Turtle-Dove. " Take two, Taffy, take two— o— o— o! " 

Magpie. "One's enough I tell you, do you not see how I 
lay it across?" 

Turtle-Dove. " Take two, Taffy, take two— o— o— o! " 

Magpie. "Here I fly away from my nest for awhile! I 
will teach no more Birds to build nests. I cannot teach a 
silly Turtle-Dove who will not learn. I heard him sing just 
now as I turned around, 

Turtle-Dove. " Take two, Taffy, take two— o— o— o, 
Take two, Taffy, take two — o — o — o!" 

Laura F. Kready. 

TYPES OF TALES 

An Animal Tale ^ 

The Good-Natured Bear 

'* I shall never forget the patience, the gentleness, the skill, 
and the firmness with which she first taught me to walk alone. 
I mean to walk on all fours, of course; the upright manner of 
my present walking was only learned afterwards. As this 
infant effort, however, is one of my earliest recollections, I 
have mentioned it before all the rest, and if you please, I will 
give you a little account of it." 

1 See note, p. 217. 



APPENDIX 273 

**0h! do, Mr. Bear," cried Gretchen; and no sooner had 
she uttered the words than all the children cried out at the 
same time, "Oh, please do, sir!" 

The Bear took several long whiffs at his pipe, and thus 
continued, — 

" My Mother took me to a retired part of the forest (of 
Towskipowski, Poland) where few animals ever came; and 
telling me that I must now stand alone, extended both paws, 
and slowly lowered me towards the earth. The height as I 
looked down, seemed terrible, and I felt my legs kick in the 
air, with fear of I did not know what, till suddenly I felt 
four hard things and no motion. It was the fixed earth be- 
neath my four infant legs. 'Now,' said my Mother, ' you 
are what is called standing alone! ' But what she said I 
heard as in a dream. With my back in the air as though it 
rested on a wooden trussel, with my nose poking out straight 
snuflSng the fresh breeze and the many secrets of the woods, 
my ears pricking and shooting with all sorts of new sounds 
to wonder at, to want to have, to love, or to tumble down 
at, — and my eyes staring before me full of light and con- 
fused gold and dancing things, I seemed to be in a condition 
over which I had no power to effect the least change, and in 
which I must remain fixed till some wonderful thing happened. 
But the firm voice of my Mother came to my assistance and 
I heard her tell me to look upon the earth beneath me and 
see where I was. First I looked up among the boughs, then 
side-ways at my shoulder, then I squinted at the tip of my 
nose — all by mistake and innocence — at last I bent my 
nose in despair and saw my forepaws standing, and this of 
course was right. The first thing that caught my attention, 
being the first thing I saw distinctly, was a little blue flower 
with a bright jewel in the middle, which I afterwards found 
was a drop of dew. Sometimes I thought this little blue 
darling was so close that it almost touched my eyes and 
certainly the color of it was up in my head; sometimes I 
thought it was deep down, a long way off. When I bent my 
face towards it to give it a kiss it seemed just where it was 
though I had not done what I had thought to do. 

** The next thing I saw upon the ground was a soft-looking 



274 APPENDIX 

little creature that crawled along with a round ball upon the 
middle of its back, of a beautiful white color, with brown and 
red curling stripes. The creature moved very, very slowly, 
and appeared always to follow the opinion and advice of two 
long horns on its head, that went feeling about on all sides. 
Presently it slowly approached my right forepaw and I 
wondered how I should feel or smell or hear it as it went over 
my toes; but the instant one of the horns touched the hair 
of my paw, both horns shrunk into nothing and presently 
came out again, and the creature slowly moved away in 
another direction. While I was wondering at this strange 
proceeding — for I never thought of hurting the creature, 
not knowing how to hurt anything, and what should have 
made the horns think otherwise.'^ — while then I was w^onder- 
ing at this, my attention was suddenly drawn to a tuft of 
moss on my right near a hollow tree trunk. Out of this green 
tuft looked a pair of very bright round small eyes, which were 
staring up at me. 

" If I had known how to walk I should have stepped back 
a few steps when I saw those bright little eyes, but I never 
ventured to lift a paw from the earth since my Mother had 
first set me down, nor did I know how to do so, or what were 
the proper thoughts or motions to begin with. So I stood look- 
ing at the eyes and presently I saw that the head was yellow 
and that it had a large mouth. * What you have just seen,' 
said my Mother, ' we call a snail; and what you now see is a 
frog.' The names however did not help me at all to under- 
stand. Why the first should have turned from my paw so 
suddenly and why this creature should continue to stare up 
at me in such a manner I could not conceive. I expected how- 
ever that it would soon come slowly crawling forth and then I 
should see whether it would also avoid me in the same manner. 
I now observed that its body and breast were double some- 
how, and that its paws were very large for its size, but had no 
hair upon them, which I thought was probably occasioned by 
its slow crawling having rubbed it all off. I had scarcely made 
these observations and reflections, when a beam of bright 
light breaking through the trees, the creature suddenly gave 
a great hop right up under my nose; and I, thinking the world 



APPENDIX 275 

was at an end, instantly fell flat down on one side and lay 
there waiting! " — 

With this glimpse of an old-time modern animal tale we 
shall have to say with " Mr. Titmarsh," " Those who wish to 
know more about him must buy the book for themselves," — 
and add: Or they must get some enterprising pubhsher to 
reprint it. 

A Few Romantic Tales ^ 

Puss-in-Boots and Lord Peter 

Puss-in-Boots, a romantic tale suited to the first grade, 
delights with its strong sense of adventure and of the heroic. 
Puss is a Master-Cat, a hero clever and quick, and with fine 
imagination to see what would happen and prepare for it. He 
is successful, combining initiative and motivation delight- 
fully. His devotion to his master seems like disinterested 
loyalty, love, and sacrifice. While it is true the plot is based 
on a lie, the moral effect is not bad because we recognize Puss 
as a match-making character similar to the matchmaking 
Jackal of India; and in love " all is fair." Moreover Puss-in- 
Boots was only true to his cat-nature in playing a trick, and 
we admire the cleverness of his trick in behalf of a master 
really deserving. The underlying philosophy of the tale, 
*' That there is a power in making the best with what you 
possess," appeals to all, and has the ability to lend dignity 
and force to the light intrigue of the tale. 

The setting in Puss-in-Boots gives a touch of nature beauty. 
First we have the Miller's poor home, and from there we 
are led in succession to the brambles through which Puss 
scampered; the rabbits' warren where he lay in waiting to 
bag the heedless rabbits; the palace to which he took the 
rabbits caught by the Marquis of Carabas; the cornfield 
where he bagged the partridges; the river-side where the 
Marquis bathed; the meadow where the countrymen were 
mowing; the cornfields where the good people were reaping; 
until at last we are escorted to the stately castle where the 
Ogre dwelt. 

1 See note, p. 232. 



276 APPENDIX 

The plot of the tale is very pleasing as it easily arranges it- 
self into a simple drama of three acts : — 

Act I, Scene i. Revery of the Master. The Cat's promise to help. 
Scene ii. Puss in the rabbits' warren with his bag. 
Scene Hi. Puss takes the rabbits to the King in his palace. 
Act II, Scene i. Puss with his bag in the cornfield. 
Scene ii. Puss takes partridges to the King. 
Scene Hi. Puss and his Master. Puss gives advice. 
Act III, Scene i. The Marquis bathing and Puss by the river-side. 
Scene ii. The Drive. Puss runs before and meets the 

mowers. 
Scene Hi. The Ogre's Castle. Puss's reception of the coach. 
Marriage of the Marquis of Carabas. Puss 
becomes a Lord. 

The tale possesses an appeal to the emotions, we want Puss- 
in-Boots to accomplish whatever scheme he invents, and we 
want the Miller's son to win the Princess. Its appeal to the 
imagination is an orderly succession of images, varied and 
pleasing. The invention of Puss and his successful adven- 
tures make the tale one of unusual interest, vivacity, and 
force. The transformation of the Ogre into a Lion and again 
into a Mouse, and the consequent climax of Puss's manage- 
ment of the Mouse, bring in the touch of the miraculous. A 
similar transformation occurs in Hesiod, where the trans- 
formed Metis is swallowed by Zeus. This transformation 
may be produced by a witch, when the help of another is 
needed, as in Beauty and the Beast and in Hansel and Grethel; 
or the transformation may come from within, as in this case 
when the Ogre changes himself into a Mouse, or when a 
man changes himself into a Wolf. A situation which parallels 
the theme of Puss-in-Boots occurs in The Golden Goose where 
Dummling gets as his share only a goose, but having the 
best disposition makes his fortune out of his goose. Grimm's 
Three Feathers also contains a similar motif. D'Aulnoy's 
White Cat, the feminine counterpart of Puss-in-Boots, is a 
tale of pleasing fancy in which the hero wins the White Cat, 
a transformed Princess, who managed to secure for him, the 
youngest son, the performance of all the tasks his father had 
set for liim. 



APPENDIX 277 

But the most interesting parallel of Puss-i,. -Boots is the 
Norse Lord Peter told by Dasent in Norse Tales. Here the 
helpful Cat does not use a bag, but in true Norse fashion 
catches game in the wood by sitting on the head of the rein- 
deer and threatening, " If you don't go straight to the King's 
palace, I '11 claw your eyes out!" The Norse tale omits the 
bathing episode. The King wants to visit Lord Peter but the 
Cat manages that Lord Peter shall visit the King. The Cat 
promises to supply coach, horses and clothes, not by craft — 
their source is not given — but they are furnished on the con- 
dition that Peter must obey to say always, when he sees fine 
things in the Castle, that he has far finer things of his own. 
In the Norse tale Peter and the Cat work together, Peter is 
in the secret; while in the Perrault tale Puss does all the 
managing, Carabas is simply being entertained by the King. 
In the Norse tale, on the way home the coach meets a flock 
of sheep, a herd of fine kine, and a drove of horses. The Cat 
does not threaten that the caretakers shall be " chopped as 
fine as herbs for the pot," if they do not say all belongs to 
Lord Peter, but he cunningly bribes the shepherd with a 
silver spoon, the neat-herd with a silver ladle, and the 
drover with a silver stoop. In place of the Ogre's Castle, 
there is a Troll's Castle with three gates — one of tin, one of 
silver, and one of gold. The Norse Cat wins the victory by 
craftily playing upon the troll-nature. He gains the Troll's 
attention by meeting him at the gate and telling him about 
the secrets of agriculture, one of the secrets of men the 
trolls wanted to learn. Then at the height of interest, he plays 
upon his curiosity by getting him to look round. Whereupon, 
the Troll, meeting the glare of the full sun, burst; for trolls 
cannot bear the sight of the sun, and live. In the Norse 
tale, the Cat, after Lord Peter at her request cuts off her 
head, becomes the Princess and marries Lord Peter. In Per- 
rault's tale, the King, with French etiquette and diplomacy, 
invites the Marquis to be his son-in-law. 

The Story of Puss-in-Boots appeared in Straparola, 11, 1, 
and in Basile, 2, 4. Laboulaye, in his Last Fairy Tales, has 
retold the Pentamerone tale, Gagliuso, in which the Cat is a 
crafty advocate of his Master's interests, but the Master is 



278 APPENDIX 

ungrateful and forgets the Cat. The effect of the tale is not 
pleasing, it is a satire on gratitude. 

The Story of Puss-in-Boots is also told by Ludwig Tieck, 
with twelve etchings by Otto Speckter, published in Leipzig, 
in 1843. A critic, writing for the Quarterly Review in 1844, 
"An Article on Children's Books," ^ recommended this edition 
of Puss-in-Boots as the beau ideal of nursery books. Puss- 
in-Boots appeared also in the Swedish of Cavallius. A mono- 
graph on the Carabas tale has been written by Andrew Lang, 

Tom Thumb and Little Thumb 

Tom Thumb, another romantic tale suited to the first 
grade, is one of the most entertaining of tales. The germ of 
Tom Thumb exists in various forms in the books of the far 
East, among American Indians, and among the Zulus of 
South Africa. Tom Thumb is one of the oldest characters in 
English nursery literature. In 1611, the ancient tales of Tom 
Thumb were said to have been " in the olde time the only 
survivors of drouzy age at midnight. Old and young, with 
his tales chim'd mattens till the cock's crow in the morning. 
Batchelors and maids have with his tales compassed the 
Christmas fireblocke till the curfew bell rings candle out. 
The old shepheard and the young plowboy, after a days' 
labour, have carol'ed out a Tale of Tom Thumb to make them 
merry with, and who but little Tom hath made long nights 
seem short and heavy toyles easie." 

Tom Thumb, as has been previously mentioned, most prob- 
ably was transmitted to England by the early Norsemen. 
The Tale of Tom Thumb, as told by Jacobs, was taken from 
the chap-book version in Halliwell. The first mention of 
Tom is in Scot's Discoverie of Witchcraft, in 1584. Tradition 
says that Tom died at Lincoln, which was one of the five 
Danish towns of England. A little blue flagstone in the 
cathedral, said to be his tombstone, was lost and has never 
been replaced during recent repairs early in the nineteenth 
century. Tom Thumb v/as first written in prose by Richard 
Johnson, in 1621. In Ashton's Chap-Books of the Eighteenth 

1 Reprinted in Living Age, Aug. 13, 1844, vol. 2, p. 1. 



APPENDIX 279 

Century we have a facsimile of the chap-book, The Famous 
History of Tom Thumb. The tale is in three parts. The first 
part, which is much superior to the rest of the tale, was 
taken from a copy printed for John Wright, in 1630. The 
second and third parts were written about 1700. The first 
part closes with the death of Tom from knightly feats. He 
was buried in great pomp, but the fairies carried him to 
Fairy Land. The first part closed with a promise of the 
second : — 

The Fairy Queen, she lov'd him so 
As you shall understand, 
That once again she let him go 
Down to the Fairy Land. 

The very time that he return'd ' 
Unto the court again. 
It was as we are well inform'd 
In good King Arthur's reign. 

When in the presence of the King, 
He many wonders wrought, 
Recited in the Second Part 
Which now is to be bought 

In Bow Church Yard, where is sold 
Diverting Histories many; 
And pleasant tales as e'er was told 
For purchase of One Penny. 

The second part opens with Tom's return to Fairy Land. 
His second death is caused by a combat with a cat. Again he 
is taken to Fairy Land. In the third part the Fairy Queen 
sends Tom to earth in King Thunston's reign. His final 
death occurred from the bite of a spider. 

The Life and Adventures of Tom Thumb appeared in the 
Tabart Collection of Fairy Tales, noted before, and a version 
entirely in verse was included in Halliwell. A monograph 
on Tom Thumb was written by M. Gaston Paris. Little 
Thumb as it appeared in Perrault and in Basile, was a tale 
similar to the German Hansel and Grethel. Thumbling, and 
Thumbling as Journeyman are German variants. Andersen's 
Thumbelina is a feminine counterpart to Tom Thumb, and 
in Laboulaye's Poucinet we have a tale of the successful 
younger brother, similarly diminutive. 



280 APPENDIX 

There were current many old stories of characters similar 
to Tom Thumb. A certain man was so thin that he could 
jump through the eye of a needle. Another crept nimbly to a 
spider's web which was hanging in the air, and danced skill- 
fully upon it until a spider came, which spun a thread round 
his neck and throttled him. A third was able to pierce a sun- 
mote with his head and pass his whole body through it. A 
fourth was in the habit of riding an ant, but the ant threw 
him off and trampled him. In a work written in 1601, referred 
to in Grimm's Household Tales a spider relates: — 

Once did I catch a tailor proud 

Heavy he was as elder wood, 

From Heaven above he 'd run a race. 

With an old straw hat to this place, 

In Heaven he might have stayed no doubt. 

For no one wished to turn him out. 

He fell in my web, hung in a knot. 

Could not get out, I liked it not. 

That e'en the straw hat, safe and sound. 

Nine days ere him came to the ground. 

A delightful little rhyme, Tom Thumb, is among Halliwell's 
Nursery Rhymes. It may refer to the Danish History of Tom 
Thumb: — 

I had a little husband 
No bigger than my thumb; 
I put him in a pint pot 
And there I bade him drum: 
I bridled him and saddled him, 
And sent him out of town; 
I gave him a pair of garters 
To tie up his little hose; 
And a little handkerchief 
To wipe his little nose. 

The English version of Tom Thumb as we know it today, 
opens with a visit of the magician Merlin at the cottage of 
an honest and hospitable ploughman. Merlin rewarded the 
Goodman and his Wife for their hospitality by calling on the 
Queen of the fairies, who brought to the home, Tom Thumb, 
a boy no bigger than a man's thumb. 

The time of the tale is in the days of Merlin and King 
Arthur's court. The tale is marked by a number of distinct 
English elements. The introduction of the Queen of the 
Fairies, of Fairy Land and the visit there, and of the fairy 



APPENDIX 281 

clothes they make for Tom, are all decidedly English. The 
sly ways of Tom, his tricks and his cleverness are distinctly 
English humor. He played with the boys for cherry-stones, 
and took theirs. He had so much curiosity that he fell into 
his mother's pudding. He was so light that on a windy day 
he had to be tied to a thistle when his mother went to milk 
the cow; and so, with his oak-leaf hat, he got caught in the 
cow's one mouthful. After other strange adventures he ar- 
rived at King Arthur's court where he became the favorite. 
His feats at tilts and tournaments give a glimpse of English 
court life, with its pastime of hunting; and fighting with the 
sword brings in the knight element. The story has little plot, 
being a succession of many episodes and a repetition of some. 
It shows little constructive ability, promises to be a perpet- 
ual tale, and is ended only by sudden death at the poisonous 
breath of the spider. Tom Thumb is one of the tales of pure 
fancy, with no underlying meaning, created for pure enter- 
tainment, to please children and grown-ups by its little 
people and little things. The moral is in the effect of Tom's 
character. 

Perrault's Little Thumb tells how a poor Fagot-maker and 
his Wife sat by the hearth, sad with famine, and Little 
Thumb overheard their words. When they started to the 
wood to gather fagots. Little Thumb, like Hansel, scattered 
pebbles. The parents left the seven children in the wood 
but little Thumb guided them home by his pebbles. They 
set out a second time, when Little Thumb scattered bread- 
crumbs; and as the birds ate them, the children were lost. 
Little Thumb climbed a tree and saw the light of the Ogre's 
cottage afar off. The children reached the Ogre's cottage 
where Little Thumb changed the golden crowns of the 
seven little Ogresses, and putting them on his brothers, 
saved their lives. Then they all fled through the wood and 
hid in a rock, while the Ogre in his seven-league boots, pur- 
sued them and lay down to rest at the rock in which they 
were hidden. Little Thumb sent his brothers home, stole 
the fairy boots, and through craft, persuaded the Ogre's 
Wife to give him all the Ogre's gold. So, rich and happy, he 
returned to his father's home. 



282 APPENDIX 

This tale shows a number of common motifs that appear 
in other tales: — 

(1) The design of distressed parents to expose children to the 

forest. 

(2) The discovery and prevention of the scheme by a child. 

(3) The repetition of incident; the clew spoiled by the birds. The 

trail motif, similar to the one in Hansel and Gretkel. 

(4) The arrival of children at the home of the Ogre. 

(5) The shifting of crowns to the heads of his brothers. 

(6) The flight of the brothers pursued by the Ogre in seven-league 

boots. 

(7) Little Thumb, stealing the boots and winning court favor, or 

the Ogre's treasure. 

Some say that in this tale, symbolically, the forest repre- 
sents night; the crumbs and pebbles, stars; and the Ogre, the 
sun. Little Thumb, because of his cunning and invention, 
has been called the Ulysses of the fairy tales. His adventure 
with the Ogre at the rock, while not a parallel one, reminds 
one of Ulysses and Polyphemus. Both succeeded in getting 
the better of the giant. An English edition of this tale was 
illustrated by William Blake. 



Snow White and Rose Red 

Snow White and Rose Red, besides blending the romantic 
and the realistic, illustrates rather completely how the old tale 
may stand the tests which have been emphasized here. As 
a romantic type, it contams adventure and the picturesque. 
It arouses emotion. It contains objects of beauty; and the 
strange Bear and the stranger Dwarf, about both of whom 
there is a sense of mystery. It exaggerates character and in- 
cidents beyond the normal, — the Mother and Daughters 
were more lovely than mortals usually are, — and the har- 
mony between man and beast may belong to the millennium 
rather than to this common earth. This is one of the most 
romantic of fairy tales in that it is a highly idealized type. 

The story was current in Germany before the time of the 
Grimms, and appeared in the collection of Caroline Stahl. 
The rhyme, — 



APPENDIX 283 



Snowy-white, rosy-red, 

Will ye strike your lover dead? 



was taken from a popular song, and is found in a child's 
story in Taschenhuch Minerva for 1813. 

Snow White and Rose Red is full of many beauties; the char- 
acters are beautiful, the setting is beautiful, and the spirit 
of the whole is full of beauty. There is sister-love; and 
mother-love — not the selfish kind that loves but its own, 
but that similar to the rich growth of our modern times, when 
mother-love seeks to include those without the home. There 
is genuine kindness that pours its sweetness on the Bear or 
on the Dwarf, that falls like the rain on the deserving and 
on the ungrateful; there is devotion to animals and a lack of 
enmity between man and beast; and there is a portrayal of 
the beauty of domestic life and of the charms of childhood 
in simple life — its play, its pleasure, and its tasks. This is 
all set as in two pictures whose sky is the golden glow of 
passion for the sun and the spring-time and summer it brings. 
In the first picture, on the edge of the forest stands a little 
cottage before whose gate grow two rose-trees, a red rose- 
tree and a white rose-tree, not only symbols of the beauty of 
the spring-time and of the rich fruitage of summer, but also 
symbols typifying the more wondrous beauty of the char- 
acter of the two children, Snow White and Rose Red. In the 
second picture, a tall palace rears itself, before whose gate 
grow two rose-trees also, a red rose-tree and a white rose-tree, 
not only symbols of the same beauty of spring-time and fruit- 
age of summer, but also symbols typifying the beauty of 
loveliness and the fairness of happiness and prosperity that 
guarded from harm the lives of the deserving Snow White and 
Rose Red, and continued to bless them to the close. 

First, looking at the characters in this tale, we see a Mother 
who illustrates the richness of womanhood. She managed 
her own home and kept it a place of beauty and cheer. She 
had two daughters, both lovely, but very different. She rec- 
ognized this difference and respected it, and permitted each 
child to enjoy a delightful freedom to grow as was her nature. 
She permitted the children to play but she also commanded 
willing obedience. She arranged their work with fairness so 



284 APPENDIX 

that each had her share and each seemed free in doing that 
work to use her individual taste and judgment. She taught 
her children to spin and to sew, and she read to them. She 
told them about the guardian Angel who watched over them 
to keep them from harm. She was not anxious when they 
were out of sight, for even when Snow White and Rose Red 
stayed in the wood all night and slept on the leaves, she had 
no fear, for no accident ever happened to them. As a strong, 
noble woman, without fear, and full of love, pity, and fair- 
ness, — George Eliot's ideal of highest character, — the 
Mother of Snow White and Rose Red has no equal in the 
fairy tales. 

The two Children, beautiful as the roses that grew outside 
the cottage, were both industrious, good, amiable little girls, 
who in their natural sweetness showed the spirit of the 
Golden Age when peace and good-will dwelt among men. 
They were natural children and they loved to play. They 
gathered berries in the forest, they played hide-and-seek 
among the trees, they waded in the river, went fishing, made 
wreaths of flowers,' and played with their animal friends. 
They fed the hares cauliflower, or watched the fawns grazing 
and the goats frisking; and even the birds loved them and 
did not fly away when they were near. In the home they 
kept things not only clean but beautiful ; they not only did 
work but took pleasure in doing that work. Now at a time 
when domestic life in the home is being threatened. Snow 
White and Rose Red gives a realistic picture of the beauty 
of domestic life, its simple joys and charm. In summer there 
was always a nose-gay for the Mother, and in winter there 
was a cheery fire with a copper kettle over it, shining like 
gold. And in the evening when the snow fell fast outside, 
inside was warmth and comfort. The Children sat sewing 
and the Mother reading, while a lamb and a white dove 
beside them enjoyed their protection and care. 

The entrance of the Bear gave the Children a natural 
thrill of fear. But the Mother, with beautiful hospitality, 
gave the Bear protection and kindness and led them to over- 
come that fear. To the Bear they showed that good nature 
which wiUingly serves; and in the tricks they played with their 



APPENDIX 285 

comrade they showed a great strength of vitality and that 
freedom which grows where there is no repression. 

The Bear departed at spring-time; and as he left Snow 
White thought she saw glittering gold under his coat. This 
seems to hint that the tale is symbolic, typifying the change 
of seasons. Spring, the Bear, took refuge in the cottage dur- 
ing the cold winter months; but in the spring he had to go 
abroad into the forest, to guard his treasures from the evil 
Dwarf of winter. 

The Children again showed their sweetness and good 
nature when, while gathering sticks, they came upon the 
Dwarf, with his wrinkled face and snow-white beard, the end 
of which was caught in a split of a tree. The contrast is de- 
lightful, between the cross and impatient Dwarf and Rose 
Red who offered to fetch help, and Snow White who politely 
tried to soothe his impatience by cutting off the end of his 
beard with her scissors. This time the Dwarf snatched a 
sack of gold which lay at the foot of the tree, and fled, most 
ungrateful, not even thanking the Children. The Children 
had two other adventures with the Dwarf; and these, to- 
gether with their adventure with the Bear, make up the plot 
of the story. They met the Dwarf a second time, one day 
when they went fishing. Then Rose Red told him to be care- 
ful or he 'd fall into the water, because a great fish was pulling 
on the bait and his beard became entangled in the fishing- 
line. Snow White again cut off the end of his beard to free 
him and again he snatched his bag — this time of pearls, 
lying among the rushes — and fled. One day, on going to 
town to buy thread, needles, laces, and ribbons, they met 
the Dwarf a third time. This time an eagle had caught him 
and was about to carry him off. The Children, with com- 
passion, held on and freed him; but again he scolded, seized 
his bag of precious stones, and slipped away to his cave. On 
their return from town, the Children again met the Dwarf, 
in the wood, counting his treasure. Again he was very angry, 
but just then the Bear arrived out of the forest and de- 
manded the life of the Dwarf. The Dwarf offered up in his 
stead. Snow White and Rose Red. But the Bear, faithful to 
his old comrades, slew the Dwarf, and then becoming a 



286 APPENDIX 

beautiful Prince, went home with the Sisters. Snow White 
married the Prince and Rose Red his Brother, and they all 
lived with their Mother happily in the beautiful palace. 

When the Bear slew the Dwarf spring returned to the land. 
The Dwarf with his snow-white beard seems to typify winter. 
Each time the Dwarf's beard was cut the beard of winter 
became shorter, another winter month was gone, and there 
remained a shorter season. The bag of gold which the Dwarf 
first took might signify the golden fruit of autumn, and the 
pearls and diamonds which he next took, the ice and snow of 
winter. The Dwarf's beard became entangled in the fishing- 
line when the icy winds of winter began to give the pond its 
frozen coat; and then the animals of the wood were com- 
pelled to seek a refuge. When the Bear came out of the wood 
to meet the Dwarf and slew him, the time for the departure 
of winter was at hand, and spring returned to the land. 

This fairy tale evidently shows a good, interesting plot, 
with something happening all the time. The climax is very 
distinctly marked, everything leads up to the meeting of the 
Bear and the Dwarf in the forest. The characters present 
interesting variety and strong contrasts. The setting is un- 
usually beautiful : the cottage, the wood, the lake, the town, 
the hillside, the palace, and the two symbolic rose-trees. The 
tale appeals to the emotions of love, kindness, compassion, 
and gratitude. It presents to the imagination distinct 
episodes: the home-life of the Children in the cottage, their 
life in the wood, their adventure with the Bear, their three 
adventures with the Dwarf, and the meeting of the Bear and 
the Dwarf. The conclusion follows closely upon the climax, — 
the Bear, grateful to the kind Children, saved their lives and 
re-transformed, became a Prince. The happy marriage 
brings the tale to a close, with the palace home guarded by 
the two rose-trees. The message of the tale is the possible 
beauty of woman's love and character, and the loveliness of 
spring and of summer. 



APPENDIX 287 

A Modern Tale * 

The Elephanfs Child 

The Elephant's Child might be examined here more particu- 
larly because it is unusually interesting as an example of the 
complete test applied to the child's fairy tale. One need not 
test it as to interest for it was written especially for children 
by one who could play with them. As to literature it cer- 
tainly has mind and soul; there is no doubt about its struc- 
ture or its appeal to the sympathies. The quantity of good 
humor and fun it bestows upon childhood is a permanent 
enrichment; for even a child's world has need of all the good 
cheer and fun that can be given to it. 

This tale is especially interesting also because it might be 
classed as almost any one of the types of tales. It is not ac- 
cumulative though it possesses to a marked degree three 
characteristics of the accumulative tale, repetition, allitera- 
tion, and all sorts of phonic effects. And it is not an old tale. 
But it is not only one of the most pleasing animal tales 
we possess but one of the best humorous tales having the 
rare quality of freshness. It is realistic in its portrayal of 
animal life; and it is highly romantic in its sense of adventure, 
the heroic, the strange, and the remote. 

As a short-story it shows the essentials, originality, in- 
genuity, and compression. The single interest is how the 
Elephant got his trunk, and everything points to the climax 
of his getting it. The plot is " entertaining, novel, comical 
and thrilling." The structure is very easily seen in these ten 
episodes : — 

1. The introduction; the family; the Child; his home; his ques- 

tions; the new, fine question. 

2. The Elephant's Child set out to answer his own question. •. 

3. The Elephant's Child met Kolokolo Bird. 

4. The Elephant's Child journeyed to the Limpopo. 

5. The Elephant's Child met the Python. 

6. The Elephant's Child met the Crocodile. He got his trunk. 

(Climax.) 

7. The Elephant's Child gained experience from the Python. 

1 See p. 239. 



288 APPENDIX 

8. The Elephant's Cliild's journey home. 

9. The Elephant's Child's return home. 

10. Conclusion. How all elephants got trunks. Peace. 

The characters are unique and interesting. They are usual 
animals but unusual in v/hat they say. They exhibit animal 
traits and motives but they also show us a hidden meaning 
in their actions and words. They seem living, they speak 
directly; yet they preserve the idea of the fable for they are 
symbolic. The Elephant's Child typifies human innocence, 
the inexperience of youth; the Kolokolo Bird, a friend; the 
Python, experience or wisdom; and the Crocodile, guile or 
evil. All the animals become very interesting because we are 
concerned to know their particular reason for spanking the 
" 'satiable Elephant's Child." What they say is so humorous 
and what they do is consistent, in harmony with their natural 
animal traits. The Child is the hero. He is a very attractive 
character because he has that rare charm we call tempera- 
ment. He is curious, polite, and sweet, and follows his own 
nose in spite of everything. He wins out with strength, ex- 
perience, and a new nose; and we are rejoiced at his triumphs. 
His questions are so funny and yet they seem quite what any 
elephant with a bump of curiosity might ask. To the Giraffe 
— " What made his skin spotty.'^ " To the Hippopotamus — 
" Why her eyes were red.f^ " To the Baboon — " Why melons 
tasted just so? " And at last, " What does the Crocodile have 
for dinner? " 

The setting of the tale is suggested continually in expres- 
sions which show visual imagination of a high order: such as, 
"And he lived in Africa"; "dragged him through a thorn 
bush"; "blew bubbles into her ear"; "hove him into a 
hornet's nest"; and "from Graham's Town to Kimberley 
and from Kimberley to Khama's Country, and from Khama's 
Country east by north to the Limpopo." 

The tale possesses most delightful humor. A verbal magic 
which fairly scintillates with the comic spirit, and clinging 
epithets of which Kipling is a master, suggest the exact 
picture needed. Hum.or is secured largely through the use of 
the unique word; as, " spanked," " precisely as Kolokolo Bird 
had said," and "for he was a Tidy Pachyderm." Often it is 



APPENDIX 289 

increased by the use of newly coined words; as, "hijjus," 
" curtiosity," "scalesome, flailsome, tail," " fever- trees," 
"self-propelling man-of-war," and "schloop of mud." An- 
other element of humor in the tale is the artistic use of 
repetition, which has been previously referred to as one of 
the child's interests. Sometimes one meaning is expressed in 
several different ways; as, "immediately and directly, with- 
out stopping, for a long time." Or we are given contrasted 
terms; as, " a little warm but not at all astonished," and then 
later, "very warm and greatly astonished." One main ele- 
ment of humor is this way in which expressions reflect back 
on preceding ones. Sometimes we are given very surprising, 
startling, expressions; as, "wait-a-bit-thorn-bush" — which 
reminds us of the " all-alone-stone " in Water Babies — and 
" he sang to himself down his trunk." 

As to imagination, The Elephant's Child is a delightful 
illustration of the appeal to the associative, the penetrative, 
and the contemplative imagination. While its philosophy 
may be understood in part by the child it has a deeper mean- 
ing for the adult. It seems to imply that it is the way of life 
to spank somebody else. It is the stronger who spank the 
weaker until they become strong enough to stand up for 
themselves. Then nobody spanks anybody any more and 
there is peace. When the Child asked a question that no one 
would answer he set out to find his own answer just as in 
life it often is best to work to answer one's own questions. 
When the Elephant trusted the Crocodile he got something to 
keep just as in life the innocent may bear the marks of a con- 
test though in no sense responsible for the contest. Experience 
in the guise of the Python helped the Child in his contest for 
life with the advice his own common sense would have of- 
fered. As an allegory of Experience The Elephant's Child 
does not view life as a whole; it gives but a glimpse of hfe. 
It would say: Experience teaches us to make the best with 
what we have. The way to get experience is to try a new 
power, just as the Child with his trunk tried to kill the fly 
and eat grass. As soon as he had received his new power he 
tested it on the Hippopotamous. He won the respect of his 
kind by beating them at their own game. 



290 APPENDIX 

The emotional appeal in The Elephant's Child would repay 
study. The dominant emotional tone is that of the adventu- 
rous hero with his " 'satiable curtiosity." There is vividness 
of emotion, steadiness of emotion, and a rich variety in the 
contrasts of feeling. Emotion of a moral quality is character- 
istic of its implied message of worldly wisdom but it does not 
leave one exactly satisfied. 

The form of the story is a splendid example of a literary 
classic style. A pleasing humorous touch is given to the 
unity of the tale by making the Elephant's Child pick up 
with his new trunk, on his way home, the melon-rinds he had 
scattered on his journey to the Limpopo. The coherence in 
the tale is unusually fine and is secured largely by expressions 
which look backward or forwards; as, " By and by when that 
was finished," or "One fine morning," or " That very next 
morning." Any study will show that the tale possesses the 
general qualities of form and has its parts controlled by the 
principles of composition. 



OUTLINE 

I. THE WORTH OF FAIRY TALES 

I. Two public tributes 1 

II. The value of fairy tales in education 3 

1. They bring joy into child-life 3 

2. They satisfy the play-spirit of childhood 4 

3. They give a power of accurate observation .... 6 

4. They strengthen the power of emotion, develop 
the power of imagination, train the memory and 
exercise the reason 6 

5. They extend and intensify the child's social re- 
lations 7 

6. In school they unify the child's work or play . . 8 

7. In the home they employ leisure time profitably 9 

8. They afford a vital basis for language-training 10 
II. References 12 



n. PRINCIPLES OF SELECTION FOR FAIRY TALES 

I. The interests of children 13 

1. Fairy tales must follow the law of composition 

and must contain the interests of children 13 

a. A sense of life 14 

h. The familiar 14 

c. The surprise. 15 

d. Sense impression 17 

e. The beautiful 18 

/. Wonder, mystery, magic 19 

g. Adventure 19 

h. Success 20 

i. Action 20 

j. Humor 21 

k. Poetic justice 22 



m OUTLINE 

I. The imaginative 23 

m. Animals 24 

n. A portrayal of human relations, especially 

with children 24 

o. The diminutive 25 

p. Rhythm and repetition 26 

q. The simple and sincere 28 

r. Unity of effect 29 

2. Fairy tales must follow the law of the emotions 
and avoid elements opposed to the interests of 

the very young child 30 

a. The tale of the witch 31 

b. The tale of the dragon 31 

c. Giant tales 31 

d. Some tales of transformation 32 

e. The tale of strange animal relations and 
strange creatures 33 

/. Unhappy tales 34 

g. The tale of capture 34 

h. The very long tale 35 

i. The complicated or the insincere tale 36 

II. The fairy tale as literature 37 

1. The fairy tale must be a true classic 38 

2. The fairy tale must have mind and soul 39 

3. The fairy tale must have the distinguishing 
marks of literature 40 

a. A power to appeal to the emotions 41 

1) Literary emotion is not personal 41 

2) Literary emotion must have justness ... 41 

3) Literary emotion must have vividness ... 41 

4) Literary emotion must have steadiness. . 41 

5) Literary emotion must have variety 41 

6) Literary emotion must have moral quality 41 

7) Application of the test of emotion to the 
fairy tales 41 

8) The value of fairy tales in the develop- 
ment of emotion 44 

b. A power to appeal to the imagination 45 

1) Appeal to the creative imagination 45 



OUTLINE 293 

2) Appeal to the associative imagination ... 46 
a) Appeal to fancy 46 

3) Appeal to the penetrative imagination ... 47 

4) Appeal to the contemplative imagination . 47 

a) Philosophy in the fairy tales 48 

b) Proverbs in the fairy tales 50 

c) Relation of the contemplative imagina- 
tion to science 52 

c. A basis of truth, or appeal to the intellect . . 53 

1) The truth must be idealistic 53 

a) It may be realistic 53 

b) It may be romantic 53 

2) Value of the appeal of literature to the 
intellect 53 

d. A form more or less perfect 54 

1) The elements of form: words, sentences, 
paragraphs, and wholes 58 

c) Words, the medium of language must 
have two powers 54 

(1) Denotation, to name what they 
mean 54 

(2) Connotation, to suggest what they 
imply 54 

b) Suggestive power of words illustrated . 55 

2) General qualities characteristic of perfect 
form 57 

a) Precision or clearness 57 

(1) Precision demands that words have 
denotation 57 

(2) Precision appeals to the intellect. . 57 

b) Energy or force 57 

(1) Energy demands that words have 
connotation 58 

(2) Energy appeals to the emotions and 
holds the attention 58 

c) Delicacy or emotional harmony 58 

(1) Delicacy demands that words have 
the power of adaptation 58 

(2) Delicacy demands that form appeal 

to the aesthetic sense 58 



294 OUTLINE 

(3) Delicacy is secured by selection and 
arrangement of words according to 

emotional associations 58 

d) Personality 58 

(1) Personality gives the charm of in- 
dividuality 58 

(2) Personality suggests the character 

of the writer 58 

S) Principles controlling the elements of 

form, principles of composition 58 

a) The principle of sincerity 58 

(1) Sincerity demands a just expression 58 

b) The principle of unity 59 

(1) Unity demands a central idea 59 

(2) Unity demands completeness 59 

(3) Unity demands no irrelevant ma- 
terial 59 

(4) Unity demands method, sequence 
and climax 59 

c) The principle of mass 59 

(1) Mass demands that the chief parts 
readily catch the eye 59 

(2) Mass demands harmonious propor- 
tion of parts 59 

d) The principle of coherence 59 

(1) Coherence demands unmistakable 
relation of parts 59 

(2) Coherence demands this unmistak- 
able relation be preserved by the 
order, forms and connections 59 

4) Form characterized by perfect adaptation 
of words to thought and feeling is called 
style 53 

a) Style demands that form possess the 
four general qualities of form in perfec- 
tion: precision, energy, delicacy, and 
personality 59 

b) Style demands that form have its ele- 
ments controlled by the four general 



OUTLINE 295 

principles: sincerity, unity, mass, and 
coherence 59 

c) Oeyvind and Marit, a modern tale illus- 
trating style 60 

d) Three Billy-Goats Gruff, a folk-tale illus- 
trating style 64 

e) The folk-tale generally considered as to 
literary form Q5 

j) The tale hy Grimm, Perrault, Dasent, 
Harris, Jacobs, Lang, and Andersen con- 
sidered as to literary form 67 

g) The tale of to-day considered as to liter- 
ary form 69 

III. The fairy tale as a short-story 70 

1. Characters .' 71 

a. Characters must be unique, original, and 

striking 72 

6. Characters of the fairy tales 72 

2. Plot 73 

a. Plot must be entertaining, comical, novel, or 

thrilling 73 

h. Plot must show a beginning, a middle, and 

an end 73 

c. Plot must have a distinct climax 74 

d. Introduction must be simple 74 

e. Conclusion must show poetic justice 74 

/. Plot must be good narration and description 74 

1) Narration must have truth, interest, and 
consistency 74 

2) Description must have aptness and con- 
creteness 75 

g. Structure illustrated by Three Pigs and Briar 
Rose 76 

3. Setting 77 

a. Setting must give the time and place, the 

background of the tale 77 

h. Setting must arouse sensation and feeling ... 77 

c. Effect of transformation of setting 77 

1) Story sequence preserved by setting illus- 
trated by Robin's Christmas Song 78 



296 OUTLINE 

d. Setting and phonics, illustrated. The Spider 
and the Flea 79 

e. Setting illustrated. Chanticleer and Partlet. . 81 

4. A blending of characters, plot, and setting illus- 
trated by The Elves and the Shoemaker 82 

5. Tests to be applied to fairy tales 84 

6. Tales examined and tested by the complete test 
of interests, classic, literature, short-story, nar- 
ration, and description 84 

a. How the Sun, Moon, and West Wind Went to 

Dinner (Indian) 84 

h. The Straw Ox (Cossack) 86 

IV. References 87 

m. THE TELLING OF FAIRY TALES 

Story-telling as an Art. Introductory 90 

1. Story-telling as an ancient art 90 

2. The place of the story in the home, library, and 

the school 93 

3. Principles of story-telling 94 

I. The teacher's preparation. Rules 94 

1. Select the tale for some purpose 94 

a. The teacher's problem of selecting the tale 

psychologically or logically 95 

2. Know the tale historically as folk-lore, as litera- 
ture, and as a short-story 96 

a. The various motives contained in the fairy 

tales listed 97 

3. Master the structure of the tale 99 

4. Dwell upon the life of the story 99 

5. Secure the message 100 

6. Master the form 100 

11. The presentation of the tale 102 

1. Training of the voice 103 

a. Study of phonetics 103 

2. Exercises in breathing 104 

3. A knowledge of gesture 105 

a. Gesture precedes speech lOG 



OUTLINE 297 

h. Gesture begins in the face 106 

c. Hands and arms lie close to the body in con- 
trolled emotion 106 

4. A power of personality 106 

5. Suggestions for telling 107 

a. The establishment of the personal relation 
between the teacher and the listener 108 

b. The placing of the story in a concrete situa- 
tion for the child 110 

c. The consideration of the child's aim in listen- 
ing, by the teacher in her preparation 112 

6. The telling of the tale 112 

a. The re-creative method of story-telling. Il- 
lustrated by a criticism of the telling of The 
Princess and the Pea 114 

b. The re-creative method illustrated by The 
Foolish, Timid Rabbit 116 

7. Adaptation of the fairy tale. Illustrated by 
Thumbelina and by The Snow Man 118 

III. The return from the child 119 

Story-telling as one phase of the art of teaching. In- 
troductory 119 

1. Teaching as good art and as great art; and 
fairy tales as subject-matter suited to accom- 
plish high purposes in teaching 120 

2. The part the child has to play in story-telling 121 

3. The child's return, the expression of his natu- 
ral instincts or general interests 125 

1. The instinct of conversation 125 

a. Language expression, oral re-telling 125 

b. The formation of original little stories 126 

c. Reading of the tale a form of creative reac- 
tion 127 

2. The instinct of inquiry 127 

a. Appeal of the folk-tale to this instinct 128 

b. The instinct of inquiry united to the instinct 
of conversation, of construction, and of ar- 
tistic expression, illustrated 128 

3. The instinct of construction 129 



298 OUTLINE 

a. Clay-modelling 129 

b. Construction of objects 129 

4. The instinct of artistic expression 130 

a. Cutting of free silhouette pictures. Illustrated 130 

b. Drawing and crayon-sketching. Illustrated 132 

c. Painting. Illustrated 132 

d. Song. Illustrated 133 

e. Dance, rhythm plays. Illustrated 134 

/. Game. Illustrated/. 135 

g. Representation of the fairy tale. Illustrated 

by The Steadfast Tin Soldier 135 

h. Free play and dramatization 138 

1) Virtues of dramatization 138 

a) It develops voice 138 

b) It gives grace of movement 138 

c) It develops control and poise 138 

d) It strengthens attention and power of 
visualization 138 

e) It combines intellectual, emotional, ar- 
tistic, and physical action 138 

/) It impresses many pieces of literature 
effectively 138 

g) It is the true Direct Moral Method and 
may establish a habit 143 

2) Dangers of dramatization 139 

a) Dramatization often is in very poor 
form 139 

b) Dramatization may develop boldness 

in a child 141 

c) Dramatization may spoil some literature 142 

d) Dramatization has lacked sequence in 
tales used from year to year 142 

i. Illustrations of creative return 144 

1) The Country Mouse and the City Mouse as 
expression in language, dramatization, 
drawing, and crayon-sketching 144 

2) The Elves and the Shoemaker as expression 

in the dramatic game 145 

3) Little Two-Eyes as expression in dramati- 



OUTLINE 299 

zation. A fairy-play outline, {^ee Appen- 
dix) ;•• 145 

4) Snow White as expression in dramatiza- 
tion. (See Appendix) • • 145 

5) Sleeping Beauty as expression of partial 
narration, dramatic game, and dramati- 
zation combined 1'*" 

6) The Little Lamb and the Little Fish, an orig- 
inal tale developed from a Grimm fragmen- 
tary tale, illustrating expression in folk- 
game and dramatization. (See Appendix) 147 

7) The Bird and the Trees, an original play 
illustrating expression in rhythm play and 
dramatization 1'*^ 

8) How the Birds came to Have Different 
Nests, an original play illustrating lan- 
guage expression and dramatization. (See 
Appendix) ;■■"■.■ 

9) Andersen's Fir Tree as expression in 
dramatization, illustrating organization of 
ideas through a play 152 

IV. References 15^ 

IV. THE HISTORY OF FAIRY TALES 

I. The origin of fairy tales 158 

1. The fairy tale defined • • • • 159 

2. The derivation and history of the name, fairy. . 159 
a. Four senses in which /air?/ has been used. . . 160 

3. The theories concerning the origin of fairy tales 161 
a. Fairy tales are detritus of myth 161 

1) The evolution of the tale 161 

h. Fairy tales are myths of Sun, Rain, Dawn, 
Thunder, etc., the Aryan Theory 162 

c. Fairy tales all arose in India, the Philological 
theory • • • • • 1^5 

d. Fairy tales owe their origin to the identity of 
early fancy .'''*.' 

e. Fairy tales owe their origin to a combination 

of all these theories 167 



SOO OUTLINE 

II. The transmission of fairy tales 167 

1. The oral transmission of fairy tales 167 

a. Examples of transmission of fairy tales : Jack 

the Giant-Killer, Dick Whittington, etc 168 

2. Literary transmission of fairy tales 170 

a. An enumeration of the literary collections and 
books that have handed down the tales; as 
Reynard the Fox, the Persian King-hook, The 
Thousand and One Nights, Straparola's 
Nights, Basile's Pentamerone, and Perrault's 
Tales of Mother Goose 170 

b. French publications of fairy tales 179 

1) The tales of Perrault 179 

2) Tales by followers of Perrault 181 

3) A list of tales from the time of Perrault to 
the present time 183 

c. English and Celtic publications of fairy tales 183 

1) Tales of Scotland and Ireland 184 

2) English tales and books 184 

3) A list illustrating the history of the English 
fairy tale, including chap-books: Jack the 
Giant-Killer, Tom Hickathrift; old collec- 
tions: etc 184 

4) A list illustrating the development of fairy- 
tale illustration in England 188 

d. German publications of fairy tales 192 

1) A list of tales from the time of the Grimms 

to the present 193 

e. Fairy-tale publications of other nations. ... 193 
/. American publications of fairy tales 195 

1) A list of tales from the earliest times to 

1870 196 

g. Recent collections of folk-lore 200 

III. References 201 

V. CLASSES OF FAIRY TALES 

I. Available types of tales 204 

1. The accumulative or clock story 205 

a. Tales of simple repetition 206 



OUTLINE SOI 

1) The House that Jack Built 206 

2) The Key of the Kingdom 207 

b. Tales of repetition with an addition 208 

1) The Old Woman and Ker Pig 208 

2) Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse 208 

3) Johnny Cake 209 

4) The Gingerbread Man 209 

5) The Straw Ox 209 

c. Tales of repetition and variation 209 

1) The Tliree Bears 209 

2) The Three Billy Goats 211 

2. The animal tale 211 

a. The evolution of the animal tale 211 

b. The animal tale may be an old beast tale. . . 211 

1) Henny Penny 21,3 

2) The Foolish Timid Rabbit 214 

3) The Sheep and the Pig 215 

4) Medio Pollito 215 

5) The Three Pigs 216 

c. The animal tale may be an elaborated fable, 
illustrated . ; 211 

d. The animal tale may be an imaginary crea- 
tion, illustrated 211 

e. The Good-Natu red Bear, a modern type. (See 
Appendix) 217 

8. The humorous tale 217 

a. The humorous element for children 218 

b. The Musicians of Bremen, a humorous type 219 

c. Humorous tales mentioned previously 221 

d. Drakesbill, a humorous type 221 

4. The realistic tale 223 

a. Lazy Jack, a realistic type of common life. . 224 

b. The Old Woman and Her Pig, a realistic type 225 

c. How Two Beetles Took Lodgings, a realistic 
tale of scientific interest 228 

d. Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse, a realistic 
theme transformed into a romantic tale. . . . 227 

5. The romantic tale 228 

a. Cinderella 228 



302 OUTLINE 

6. Sleeping Beauty 231 

c. Red Riding Hood 232 

d. Puss-in-Boots. (See Appendix) 232 

1) The Norse Lord Peter (See Appendix) . . 232 

e. Tom Thumb, a romantic tale of fancy. (See 
Appendix) 232 

1) The French Little Thumb. (See Appen- 
dix) 232 

2) The English Tom Thumb. (See Appendix) 232 
/. Snow White and Rose Red, a highly idealized 

romantic type tested by the standards in- 
cluded here. (See Appendix) 232 

6. The old tale and the modern tale 234 

a. The modern tale often lacks the great art 
qualities of the old tale, unity and harmony, 
sincerity and simplicity 235 

b. The modern tale often fails to use the method 

of suggestion 235 

c. The modern tale often does not stand the test 

of literature 235 

d. The modern tale gives richly to the primary 
and elementary field 235 

e. Criticism of a few modern tales 236 

1) Little Beta and the Lame Giant, a good 
modern tale 236 

2) The Cock, the Mouse, and the Little Red 
Hen, a good modern tale 238 

3) Peter Rabbit, a classic; other animal tales 239 

4) The Elephant's Child, a modern animal 
tale. (See Appendix) 239 

5) A Quick-Running Squash, a good modern 

tale 240 

6) A few St. Nicholas fairy stories 241 

7) The Hop-About-Man, a romantic modern 
fairy tale 241 

/. What the modern fairy tale is 243 



OUTLINE 303 

VI. SOURCES OF MATERIAL FOR FAIRY TALES: A 
LIST OF FAIRY TALES, FOLK-TALES, PICTURES, 
PICTURE-BOOKS, POEMS, AND BOOKS 

Basis on which hsts are made. Introductory 245 

I. A hst of fairy tales and folk-tales suited to the 

kindergarten and first grade 246 

1. Tales of Perrault 246 

2. Tales of the Grimms 246 

3. Norse tales 247 

4. English tales, by Jacobs 247 

5. Modern fairy tales, by Andersen 248 

6. Uncle Remus tales, bj^ Harris 248 

7. Miscellaneous tales 249 

II. Bibliography of fairy tales 253 

III. A list of picture-books 254 

IV. A list of pictures 255 

V. A list of fairy poems 256 

VI. Main standard fairy-tale books 256 

VII. Fairy tales of all nations 258 

VIII. Miscellaneous editions of fairy tales 259 

IX. School editions of fairy tales 262 

APPENDIX 

Illustrations of creative return 265 

Tales suited for dramatization 265 

Little Two-Eyes 265 

Snow White 266 

The Little Lamb and the Little Fish 267 

How the Birds came to Have Different Nests .... 270 
Types of tales 272 

An animal tale 272 

The Good-Natured Bear 272 

A few romantic tales 275 

Puss-in-Boots and Lord Peter 275 

Tom Thumb and Little Thumb 278 

Snow White and Rose Red 282 

A modern tale 287 

The Elephant's ChUd 287 



INDEX 



Accumulative or clock story, 
205-11. 

Action, 20-21. 

Adaptation of fairy tales, 117- 
19. 

Adventure, 19-20. 

Adventures of Chanticleer and 
Partlet, 81-82. 

American fairy tales, 195-99. 

Andersen, Hans C: tales by, 
tested as literary form, 69; 
Steadfast Tin Soldier, 46, 49, 
135-38; Fir Tree, 151-53; list 
of tales by, 248; editions, 256- 
57. 

Animal tale: class, 211-17; evo- 
lution of, 211-13; types of, 
213-17, 272-75, 287-90. 

Animals: an interest, 24; tale of 
strange, 33-34. 

Appendix, 265-90: Little Two- 
Eyes, 265-66; Snow White, 
266-67; The Little Lamb and 
the Little Fish, 267-70; How 
the Birds came to Have Dif- 
ferent Nests, 270-72; The 
Good-Natured Bear, 272-75; 
Puss-in-Boots and Lord Peter, 
275-78; Tom Thumb and 
Little Thumb, 278-82; Snow 
White and Rose Red, 282-86; 
and The Elephant's ChUd, 287- 
90. 

Arabian Nights, Thousand and 
One Nights, 176-78, 190, 196. 

Art: of teaching, 119-20; in 
teaching, good, 120; in teach- 
ing, great, 120-21; in litera- 
ture, good, 39-40; in literature, 
fine, 39-40; of story-tell in sr, 
90-91, 93-94; ancient, of story- 
telling, 91-93. 



Artistic expression, instinct of, 

130-54. 
Aulnoy, Comtesse d', tales of, 

181-82. 

Basile, 178-79. 

Beaumont, Madam de, 182. 

Beautiful, the, 18-19. 

Beauty and the Beast, drama- 
tization of, 140-41; editions 
of, 189, 198. 

Bibliography of fairy tales, 253-54. 

Bird and the Trees, 148-51. 

Books, main standard fairy tale, 
a list, 256-58. See Sources of 
material. 

Breathing, exercises in, 104-05. 

Briar Rose, 77. See also Sleeping 
Beauty. 

Capture, tales of, 34-35. 

Celtic fairy tales, 183-84. 

Chap-books, 185-87, 188, 196, 
198. 

Characters, 71-73. 

Child: his part in storv-telling, 
121-25; interests, 13-37; in- 
stincts, 125-54; growth: in ob- 
servation, 6, 47-48; in reason, 
6-7, 53-54; in language, 10; 
in emotion, 44-45; in imagina- 
tion, 45-53; in experience, 54; 
in intellect, 53-54; in self-ac- 
tivity, 121-22; in conscious- 
ness, 122-23; in initiative, 122; 
in purpose, 123-25; in creative 
return possible to him, 123-54; 
in self-expression, 124-54; in 
organization of ideas, 153. 

Child's Own Book, The, 190. 

Cinderella, a chap-book, 187, 188, 
198; a romantic type, 228-31. 



306 



INDEX 



Classes of tales, 204r-44: accumu- 
lative, 205-11; animal, 211-17; 
humorous, 217-23; realistic, 
223-28; romantic, 228-34; old 
and modern, compared, 234- 
43; references, 243-44. 

Classic, fairy tale as a, 38-39. 

Cock, the Mouse, and the Little 
Red Hen, 238-39. 

Coherence, principle of, 58-59; 
illustrated, 62, 65. 

Complicated or insincere, the, 
36. 

Composition: general qualities 
of, 57-58; precision, 57; energy, 
57-58; delicacy, 58; personal- 
ity, 58; principles of, 58-59; 
sincerity, 58-59; unity, 59; 
mass, 59; coherence, 59; style 
in, 59-60. 

Comte de Caylus, 182. 

Concrete situation, placing of 
story in, 94-95, 110-11. 

Connotation, 54-57. 

Consciousness, development of, 
122-23. 

Construction, expression of in- 
stinct of, 129-30. 

Conversation, expression of in- 
stinct of, 125-27. 

Country Mouse and City Mouse, 
144-45. 

Crayon-sketching, as expression, 
132. 

Creative return, illustrated, 144- 
54. See Return. 

Criticism: of life, teaching, a, 
120-21; of Oeyvind and Marit, 
60-64; of Three Billy-Goats 
Gruff, 64-65; of How the Sun, 
Moon, and West Wind went 
out to Dinner, 84-86; of Straw 
Ox, 86-87; of Steadfast Tin 
Soldier, 135-38; of Musicians 
of Bremen, 219-20; of Drakes- 
bill, 221-23; of Puss-in-Boots 
and Norse Lord Peter, 275-78; 
of Tom Thumb and Little 
Thumb, 278-82; of Snow 



White and Rose Red, 282-86; 
and of Elephant's Child, 287- 
90. 

Danish tales, 194. 

Dasent, Sir George W., tales by, 
as literary form, 68-69; Norse 
tales by, 194, 247, 257. 

Delicacy, or emotional harmony, 
quality of, 57-58; illustrated, 
60, 61, 64. 

Denotation, 54. 

Description, 75. 

Dick Whittington, illustrating 
oral transmission of tales, 169; 
a chap-book, 185, 188, 196, 
198. 

Diminutive, the, 25-26. 

Dragon tales, 31. 

Drakesbill, 221-23. 

Dramatic game: Elves and the 
Shoemaker, 145; Sleeping 
Beauty, 146-47. 

Dramatization, as expression, 
138-54; virtues of, 138, 143; 
dangers of, 139-43; of Sleeping 
Beautv, 146-47; of Bird and 
the Trees, 149-51; of Fir Tree, 
152-53; of Little Two Eyes, 
265-66; of Snow White, 266- 
67; of How the Birds came to 
have Different Nests, 270-72; 
and of Puss-in-Boots, 276. 

Drawing, as expression, 132. 

Dwarf's Tailor, 237. 

Editions, main fairytale, 256-58; 
fairy tale, of all nations, 258- 
59; illustrated, 254-55; mis- 
cellaneous, of fairy tales, 259- 
62: school, of fairy tales, 262- 
64. 

Elements to be avoided, 30-36. 

Elephant's Child, illustrating: 
repetition, 27-28; suggestion, 
56-57; form, 100-01; modern 
animal tale, 239, 287-90. 

Elves and the Shoemaker, illus- 
trating: structure and short- 



INDEX 



307 



story, 82-84; creative return, 
145. 

Emelyan the Fool, 170. 

Emotion, appeal to, distinguish- 
ing literary trait, 40-41 ; quali- 
ties of literary, 41; literary, 
in fairy tales, 41-44; growth of, 
44-45; comparison of, in fairy 
tales and Shakespeare'sdramas, 
7, 43-44. 

Energy or force, quality of, 57- 
58; illustrated, 61, 64. 

English fairy tales, 184-92; col- 
lections of, 184-88; illustrating 
development of illustration, 
188-92; by Jacobs, list, 247- 
48; editions, 257. 

Expression in: language, 125-27; 
reading, 127; inquiry, 127-29; 
construction, 129-30; art, 130- 
54; paper-cutting, 130-31; 
drawing, 132; painting, 132; 
rhythm play, 133-34; song, 
132-33; game, 134-35; repre- 
sentation, 135-38; dramatiza- 
tion, 138-54, 265-72. 

Fairy, derivation of, 159-60; 
history of the name, 160. 

Fairy tales: worth of, 1-12; prin- 
ciples of selection for, 13-89; 
telling of, 90-157; history of, 
158-203; classes of, 204-44; 
sources of material for, 245- 
64; tributes to, 1-3; interests 
in, 13-37; as literature, 37-70; 
as classics, 38-39; possessing 
mind and soul, 39-40; distin- 
guished by marks of literature, 
40; as emotion, 41-45; as 
imagination, 45-53; philoso- 
phy in, 48-52; proverbs in, 50; 
as truth, 53-54; as form, 54- 
70; powers of words in, 54-57 
general qualities of form in, 
57-58; general principles con- 
trolling form in, 58-59; style in, 
defined, 59-60; tested as lit- 
erary form, 60-70; as a form 



of short-story, 70-87; char- 
acters, 71-73; plot, 73-77: nar- 
ration, 74-75; description, 
75; structure, 76-77; setting, 
77-82; three elements blended, 
82-84; tested by complete 
standards, 84-87; teacher's 
preparation for telling, 94-102; 
presentation of, by teacher 
102-19; return of child from, 
119-54; rules for preparation 
of, 94-102; selection of, 95-96; 
motifs in, 96-98; re-telling of, 
101-02; training of voice in 
telling, 103-04; breathing in 
telling, 104-05; gesture in tell- 
ing, 105-06; power of person- 
ality, in telling, 106-07; sug- 
gestions for telling, 107-12; es- 
tablishment of personal rela- 
tion in telling, 107-10; placing 
of, in a concrete situation, 110- 
11; conception of child's aim in 
listening to, 112; re-creative 
method of telling, 112-17; 
adaptation of, 117-19; art of 
teaching, in telling, 119-25; 
as expression of conversation, 
125-27; as expression of in- 
quiry, 127-29; as expression of 
construction, 129-30; as ex- 
pression of art, 130-54; origin 
of, 158-67; transmission of, 
167-200; French, 179-83; Cel- 
tic, 183-84; English, 184-92; 
German, 192-93; tales of 
other nations, 193-95; Ameri- 
can, 195-99; collections of folk- 
lore, 200; accumulative, 205- 
11; animal, 211-17; humorous, 
217-23; realistic, 223-28; ro- 
mantic, 228-34, 275-86; old 
and modern, 234'-43; of Per- 
rault, 246; of the Grimms, 246- 
47; Norse, 247; English, by 
Jacobs, 247-48; modern, by 
Andersen, 248; Uncle Remus, 
by Harris, 248-49; miscellane- 
ous, 249-53; bibliography of, 



308 



INDEX 



253-54; in picture-books, 254- 
55; in pictures, ^55; in poems, 
255-56; in standard books, 
256-58; of all nations, 258-59; 
in miscellaneous editions, 259- 
62; in school editions, 262-64; 
in Appendix, 265-90. 

Familiar, the, 14-15. 

Fancy, 46, 47. 

Fir Tree, 151-53. 

First-grade fairy tales, 231-34, 
265-86. 

Folk-game, illustrated by Little 
Lamb and the Little Fish, 147- 
48, 267-70. 

Folk-tales, generally, as literarj^ 
form, 65-67; tested as literary 
form, 60-70; characters of, 
compared with those of Shake- 
speare, 7, 43-44; recent collec- 
tions of. 200. 

Foolish, Timid Rabbit, illustrat- 
ing method in story-telling, 
116-17; an animal type, 214. 

Form, a distinguishing literary 
trait, 40, 54; perfect, 57-60; 
general qualities of, 57-58; 
precision, a quality, 57; en- 
erg3% a quality, 57-58; deli- 
cacy, a quality, 58; personal- 
ity, a quality, 58; principles 
controlling, 58-60: sincerity, 
58-59; unity, 59; mass, 5£; 
coherence, 59; style in, 59-60, 
illustrated: by Oeyvind and 
Marit, 60-64; by Three Billy- 
Goats Gruff, 64-65; folk-tales 
as literary, 65-70; mastery of 
tale as, 100-02. 

French fairy tales, 179-83. 

Game, as expression, 134-35. 
Gardens of the Tuileries, 1. 
German fairy tales, 192-93. 
Gesta Romanorum, 174-75, 
Gesture, knowledge of, 105-06; 

library pamphlet relating to, 

106. 
Giant tales, 31-32. 



Golden Egg and the Cock of Gold, 

237-S8. 
Good-Natured Bear, a modern 

animal type, 217, 272-75; a 

book, 190. 
Grimm, William and Jacob, 67- 

68; list of tales by, 246-47; 

editions by, 257; tales by, as 

literary form, 67. 

Harris, J. C, list of Uncle Remus 
tales by, 248-49; tales by, as 
literary form, 69; editions by, 
257. 

Henny Penny, 214. 

History of fairy tales, 158-203; 
origin of fairy tales, 158-67; 
transmission of fairy tales, 1 67- 
200; oral transmission, 167- 
70; literary transmission, 170- 
200; references, 201-03. 

Hop-About-Man, 241-43. 

House that Jack Built, 206-07. 

How the Birds came to Have 
Different Nests, 151 ; 270-72. 

How the Sun, Moon, and West 
Wind went out to Dinner, 84- 
86. 

How Two Beetles Took Lodg- 
ings, 226. 

Humor in fairy tales: an interest, 
21-22; 217-19. 

Humorous tales, 217-23; tj^pes 
of, 219-23. 

Imagination, a distinguishing lit- 
erary mark of fairy tales, 40, 
45-53; creative, 45; associa- 
tive, 46; penetrative, 47; con- 
templative, 47-53; fancy, 46, 
47; exhibited in child's return, 
122, 125-54. 

Imaginative, the, 23. 

Initiative, development of, 122, 
123-25. 

Instincts of child, expression of: 
conversation, 125-27; inquiry, 
127-29; construction, 129-30; 
artistic e:q)re3sion, 130-54. 



INDEX 



809 



Intellect, appeal of fairy tales to, 
53-54.. 

Interests of children, 13-37; 
sense of life, 14; the familiar, 
14-15; surprise, 15-17; sense 
impression, 17-18; the beau- 
tiful, 18-19; wonder, mystery, 
magic, 19; adventure, 19-20; 
success, 20; action, 20-21; 
humor, 21-22; poetic justice, 
22-23; the imaginative, 23; 
animals, 24; portrayal of hu- 
man relations, 24-25; the di- 
minutive, 25-26; rhythm and 
repetition, 26-28; the simple 
and the sincere, 28-29; unity of 
eflFect, 29-30; opposed to, 30- 
36; witch tales, 31; dragon 
tales, 31; giant tales, 31-32; 
some tales of transformation, 
32-33; tales of strange creat- 
ures, 33-34; unhappy tales, 34; 
tales of capture, 34-35; very 
long tales, 35-36; complicated 
or insincere tales, 36. 

Introduction, i-iii. 

Inquiry, instinct of, 127-29. 

Jack the Giant-Killer, 185, 186, 
188, 190. 

Jacobs, Joseph, list of tales by, 
247-48; tales by, as literary 
form, 69; editions by, 257. 

Jatakas, 170. 

Key of the Kingdom, 207-08. 

Kindergarten: play in, 5-Q; work 
in, unified by the fairy tale, 
8-9; language- training in, 10- 
11; interests of child in, 13-37; 
standards for literature in, 37- 
87; standards for composition 
in, 54-60; story- telling in, 94- 
119 ; return to be expected from 
child in, 119-54; standards of 
teaching for teacher in, 119- 
25; instincts of child in, 125- 
54; history of fairy tales to be 
used in, 158-203; classes of 



tales used in, 204-44; sources 
of material for fairy tales to be 
used in, 245-64. 
King-book, Persian, The, 175-76. 

Lang, Andrew, tales by, as lit- 
erary form, 69. 

Lambikin, 21. 

Language, expression in, 125-27. 

Lazy Jack, 224-25. 

Life, a sense of, 14; criticism of, 
120-21; fairy tale a counter- 
part to, 8-9. 

Lists: of tales, 246-53; See 
Sources of material. 

Literature, mind and soul in, 39- 
40; qualities of, 40; fairy tale 
as, 37-87. 

Little Lamb and the Little Fish, 
147-48, 267-70. 

Little Two-Eyes, 145, 265-66. 

Little Thumb, editions, 189; 
tale, 232, 281-82. 

Literary collections of tales, 170- 
200. 

Logical method of selecting tales, 
95-96. 

Long tales, opposed to child's in- 
terests, 35-36. 

Lord Peter, 232, 277. 

Magpie's Nest, 151, 270-72. 

Marchen Brunnen or Fairy-tale 
Fountain, 2-3. 

Mass, principle of, 58-59; illus- 
trated in: Oeyvind and Marit, 
61-62; Three Billv-Goats 
Gruff, 65. 

Medio Pollito, 215-16. 

Memory, development of, 226. 

Message, of the tale, 100; of this 
book. See Summaries. 

Method of story-telling, the re- 
creative, 113-17; criticism of, 
114-16; illustration of, 116- 
17; direct moral, 143. 

Mind, in literature, 40. 

Miscellaneous, tales, a list, 249- 
53; editions, 259-62. 



310 



INDEX 



Modern tale, compared with old 
tale, 234.-43; types of, 235-43; 
what it is, 243; tales, by An- 
dersen, 28-29, 234, 248, 256- 
57. 

Motifs in folk-tales, classified, 
97-98. 

Mother Goose, tales of, 179-81; 
her Melodies, 187, 195, 197, 
198. 

Musicians of Bremen, 130-31, 
219-20. 

Narration, in fairy tales, 74-75; 

illustrated by Sleeping Beauty, 

146-47. 
Norse tales, 194; a list of, 247; 

editions, 257. 

Objectification in fairy tales, 
135-38. 

Oeyvind and Marit, 60-64. 

Old Woman and Her Pig, accum- 
ulative type, 207, 208; realistic 
type, 225-26; an exercise of 
memory, 226. 

Organization of ideas, accom- 
plished through Fir Tree, 152- 
53; social, of tale, 153-54. 

Origin of fairy tales, 158-67. 

Outline, 291-303. 

Paper-cutting, 130-31. 
Painting, as expression, 132. 
Panchatantra, the Five Books, 

171. 
Pause, in story-telling, 104-05. 
Fentamerone, The, 178-79. 
Perrault, Charles, statue of, 1; 

list of tales by, 180; tales by, 

tested as literary form, 68; 

editions by, 257-58. 
Personality, quality of, 57-58; 

in Oeyvind and Marit, 60; in 

Three Billy-Goats GrufiF, 64; 

power of, 106-07. 
Personal relation, establishment 

of, 107-10. 
Peter Rabbit, 239. 



Philosophy, in fairy tales, 48-52; 
of I'ncle Remus Tales, 51-52; 
of Laboulaye's Tales, 51; of 
Cat and Mouse in Partnership, 
48; of Emperor's New Suit, 
48-49; of Ugly Duckling, 49- 
50; of Elephant's Child, 49; 
child's, 50-51. 

Phonics in fairy tales, 79-81. 

Pictures, list, ^55. 

Picture-Books, list, 254-55. 

Plot, element of fairy tale as 
short-story, 73-77; structure 
illustrated, 76-77. 

Poems, fairy, list, 255-56. 

Poetic justice, 22-23. 

Poetry, of teaching, 120. 

Portrayal of human relations, 
especially with children, 24- 
25. 

Position, of story-teller, 107. 

Precision, quality of, 57; illus- 
trated in: Oeyvind and Marit, 
60; Three Billy-Goats Gruff, 
64. 

Preparation, teacher's, in story- 
telling, 94-102; rules for tell- 
ing, 94-102. 

Presentation, teacher's, of tale, 
102-19: training of voice, 103- 
04; exercises in breathing, 104- 
05; gesture, 105-06; power of 
personality, 106-07; sugges- 
tions for telling, 107-12; es- 
tablishment of personal rela- 
tion, 108-10; placing of story 
in concrete situation, 94-95, 
110-11; conception of child's 
aim, 112; telling of tale, 112- 
19; re-creative method of 
story-telling, 113-17; adapta- 
tion of fairy tales, 117-19. 

Princess and Pea, 114-16. 

Principles, of selection for fairy 
tales, 13-89: interests of chil- 
dren, 13-37; fairy tale as litera- 
ture, 37-70; fairy tale as short- 
story, 70-87; references, 87- 
89. 



INDEX 



311 



Principles, of composition, 58-60; 
of story-telling, 94; of teaching, 
119-25; concerning instincts 
of children, 124-25. 

Problem, a means of developing 
consciousness, 122-25. 

Proverbs in fairy tales, 50. 

Purpose, growth in child's, 123- 
25. 

Puss-in-Boots, 232, 275-78. 

Psychological method of select- 
ing tales, 95-96. 

Quick-Running Squash, 240. 

Realistic, tale, 223-28; types of, 
224-28. 

Reading, as expression, 127; rela- 
tion of, to literature, 10-11, 127. 

Reason, growth in, 6-7, 10; de- 
velopment of, 53-54. 

Re-creative method of story- 
telling, 113-17. 

Red Riding Hood, chap-book, 
189; a romantic type, 232-34. 

References; chapter i, 12; chap- 
ter II, 87-S9; chapter iii, 154- 
57; chapter iv, 201-03; chap- 
ter, V, 243-44. 

Relation, of contemplative imag- 
ination to language-training, 
47-48; of contemplative imagi- 
nation to power of observa- 
tion, 47-48; of contemplative 
imagination to science, 52-53; 
of literature to intellect, 53- 
54; of sound to sense or mean- 
ing, 55; of sound to action, 55- 
58; of phonics and emotional 
effect, 55; of gesture to story- 
telling, 105-06; personal, be- 
tween the story-teller and 
listener, 107-10; of reading to 
story-telling, 127; of reading to 
literature, 10, 11, 38, 127; of 
rhyme to meaning, 56; of fairy 
tales to nature study, 6, 47- 
48; of fairy tales to industrial 
education, 71-73; of fairy tales 



to child, 3-11 ; of dramatization 
to^ story-telling, 138-54; of 
fairy tales to literature, 37-70; 
of fairy tales to composition, 
54-70; of fairy tales to story- 
telling, 90-91. 

Repetition, 26-28, 205-11. 

Representation, 135-38. 

Re-telling of fairy tales, 101-02. 

Return, creative, from child, in 
telling of fairy tales, 119-54: 
in language, 125-27; in in- 
quiry, 127-29; in construction, 
129-30; in artistic expression, 
130'-54; in paper-cutting, 130- 
31; in drawing, 132; in paint- 
ing, 132; in song, 132-33; in 
rhythm, 133-34; in game, 134- 
35; in dance, 137, 145, 147; in 
dramatization, 138-54; illus- 
trated, 145-54, 265-72. 

Reynard the Fox, place in the 
animal tale, 212; history, 172- 
74; chap-book, 185, 186, 190, 
196. 

Rhyme, 56. 

Rhythm, in fairy tales, 26-28; 
plays, 133-34. 

Robin's Christmas song, 78-79. 

Romantic tale, 228-34; types of, 
228-34, 275-86. 

St. Nicholas, Stories retold from, 
241. 

Sanskrit Tales, 171. 

School editions of fairy tales, 262- 
64. 

Science, relation of contempla- 
tive imagination to, 52-53. 

Sea Fairy and the Land Fairy, 
236-37. 

Selection of fairy tales by teacher, 
psychological or logical, 95-96. 

Sense impression, 17-18. 

Setting, element of fairy tale as 
short-story, 77-82; sequence 
in, 78-79; story told by, 81- 
82; and phonics, 79-81. 

Sheep and Pig, 215. 



312 



INDEX 



Short-story, fairy tale as, 70-87: 
elements of, 70-71; ways of 
writing, 71; characters, 71-73; 
plot, 73-77; narration in, 74r- 
75; description in, 75; setting, 
77-82; elements of, blended, 
82-84. Tales tested as, 84-87; 
telling of, 90-154. 

Silhouette pictures, cutting of, 
130-31. 

Simple and sincere, 28-29. 

Sincerity, principle of, 58-59; 
illustrated in: Oeyvind and 
Marit, 60, 61; Three Billy- 
Goats Gruff, 64-65. 

Sindibad, The Book of, 172. 

Sleeping Beauty, romantic type, 
231-32; uniting partial narra- 
tion, dramatization, and dra- 
matic game, 146-47. 

Snow White, 145, 266-67. 

Snow White and Rose Red, 232, 
282-86. 

Song, as expression, 132-33. 

Soul, in literature, 39-40. 

Sources of material for fairy tales, 
245-64: list of fairy tales and 
folk-tales, 246-53; bibliog- 
raphy of fairy tales, 253-54; 
list of picture-books, 254-55; 
list of pictures, 255; list of fairy 
poems, 255-56; main standard 
fairy-tale books, 256-58; fairy 
tales of all nations, 258-59; 
miscellaneous editions of fairy 
tales, 259-62; school editions of 
fairy tales, 262-64. 

Sparrow and the Crow, as ex- 
pression, 125-26. 

Spider and the Flea, 79-81. 

Standards, for testing fairy tales, 
84; for selecting tales, 204-05; 
for making lists, 245-46. See 
Summaries. 

Standard fairy-tale books, a list, 
256-58. 

Story, place of, in home, library, 
and school, 93-94; formation 
of original stories, 126-27. 



Story-telling, an ancient art, 91- 
93; principles governing, 94; 
teacher's preparation for, 94- 
102; rules for, 94-102; presen- 
tation in, 102-119; voice in, 
103-04; breathing in, 104-05; 
gesture in, 105-06; re-creative 
method of, 113-17; return from 
child, in, 119-54; child's part 
in, 121-25. 

Straparola, 178. 

Straparola's Nights, 178. 

Straw Ox, 86-87. 

Structure, illustrated, 76-77; 
study of, in story-telling, 99- 
100. 

Study of tale as folk-lore and as 
literature, 96-99. 

Style, defined, 59-60; illustrated, 
60-65; qualities of, 59-60; 
principles controlling, 59-60. 

Success, 20. 

Suggestion, illustrated by Pope, 
55; by Andersen, 136; by Kip- 
ling, 56-57; through gesture 
and sound, 55; through ar- 
rangement of words and 
speech-tunes of voice, 56-57. 

Summaries: giving message of 
book. 13, 37-38, 40, 70-71, 84, 
158, 204-05, 235. 

Surprise, 15-17. 

Swedish tales, 193. 

Tales: of Mother Goose, 179-81; 
of Perrault, 246; of the Grimms, 
246-47; Norse, 247; English, 
by Jacobs, 247-48; modern 
fairy, by Andersen, 248; Uncle 
Remus, 248-49; miscellaneous, 
249-53; fairy, of all nations, 
258-59; literary collections of, 
170-200. See Fairy tales. 

Teaching, story-telling, a part of 
the art of, 119-25; poetry of, 
120; good art in, 120; great art 
in, 120-21; a criticism of life, 
120-21. 

Tellmg, of fairy tales, 90-154; 



INDEX 



813 



art of story- telling, 90-94; 
principles controlling, 94; prep- 
aration by teacher for, 94- 
102; presentation by teacher, 
in, 102-19; suggestions for, 
107-12; return by child, from, 
119-54; re-creative method of, 
113-17; adaptation of tales for, 
117-19; references, 154-57. 
Theories of origin of fairy tales: 
detritus of myth, 161-63; sun- 
myth theory, 163-64; com- 
mon Indian heritage, 165-67; 
identity of early fancy, 167. 

Three Bears, illustrating sur- 
prise, 16-17; a chap-book, 
190; accumulative, 209-11. 

Three Billy-Goats Gruff, 64-65. 

Three Pigs, illustrating structure, 
76; animal type, 216. 

Thumbelina, illustrating adap- 
tation, 118; illustrating rhythm 
play, 134. 

Tin Soldier, Steadfast, as emo- 
tion, 42; tale of imagination, 
46; as representation, 135-38; 
as a game, 135, 138. 

Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse, 
81, 208-09, 227-28. 

Tom Hickathrift, 185, 186, 187, 
196. 

Tom Thumb, chap-book tale, 
185, 188, 190, 196; romantic 
type, 278-81. 

Tone-color, in story-telling, 105. 

Training of voice, 103-04. 

Transformation, tales of, 32-33; 
kinds of, 276. 

Transmission, of tales: oral, 167- 
170; literary, 170; illustrated 
by: Dog Gellert, 166; Dick 
Whittington, 169; Peruonto, 
169-70. 

Tributes, two public, 1-3. 

Truth, basis of, in fairy tales, a 
distinguishing literary mark, 
40, 53-54. 

Tuileries, gardens of. See Gar- 
dens. 



Uncle Remus Tales, by Harris, 
248-49; editions, 257. 

Unhappy tales, 34. 

Unity, of effect, 29-30; principle 
of composition, 58-59; illus- 
trated in: Oeyvind and Marit, 
61; Three Billy-Goats Gruff, 
65. 

Value, of fairy tales in educa- 
tion, 3-12, 119-25; to give joy. 
3-4; to satisfy the play-spirit, 
4-6; to develop observation, 
6; to give habits of mind, 6-7; 
to strengthen emotion, 6-7, 44- 
45 ; to extend social relations, 7- 
8; in home, library, and school, 
8-9; to give language-train- 
ing, 10-11; to develop im- 
agination, 45-53; to develop 
reason, 53-54; to develop 
power of creative return, 119- 
54; to develop self-activity, 
121-22; to develop conscious- 
ness, through problems, 122- 
23; to develop initiative, 122; 
to develop purpose, 123-25; to 
develop self-expression, 124- 
54; to strengthen originality, 
127-29; to develop organiza- 
tion of ideas, 153; and to ex- 
ercise memory, 226. 

Version, of tale, 101-02. 

Villeneuve, Madam, 182. 

Voice, training of, 103-04. 

Witch tales, 31. 

Wolf and the Seven Kids, ex- 
pression in painting, 132; in 
song, 132-33. 

Words, powers of, 54-55; deno- 
tation, 54; connotation, 54-55; 
suggestion, 54-57. 

Wonder, mystery, magic, an in- 
terest 19 

Worth of fairy tales, 1-12: two 
public tributes, 1-3; value of 
fairy tales in education, 3-12; 
references, 12. 



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